If you look at him Billy Bob Thornton might strike you as a guy that has tried a lot of things in life but none have ever really taken. But the effort of trying has definitely taken a toll on him since he does look like he’s been through the ringer a time or two. You wouldn’t be wrong, but you’d have to come to an understanding that after trying for so long he did finally succeed and has been a noted actor for some time. His early days weren’t always the easiest as he lived in a home without electricity or plumbing. That aside he wasn’t always the best student and he didn’t even get into acting right away as his auditions weren’t always successful. But somehow and some way he made his way into the spotlight and he’s been there for a while, churning out good and bad films for us to enjoy and even idolize on occasion.
Here are some of the best movies from his career.
5. Bad Santa
You might be asking why this is on the list and why I would bother even toting it out when there are so many others. Well, for me this edges out Faster and a few others just because it’s so hilarious and dark at the same time that it had to be added. It’s one thing to note that he’s a crook dressed up as Santa Claus in this movie, but it’s another to realize that his character isn’t really that bright and aside from knowing how to crack a safe he’s not too knowledgeable about much else. It does kind of boggle the mind to think that someone could be so great at such a technical skill as safe-cracking and not know anything else about life.
4. Monster’s Ball
A lot of this film would be hard to stomach for anyone that had to go through it in real life. First Hank berates his son Sonny for vomiting and causing a scene during a man’s last walk to his execution, and then Sonny kills himself after holding his father at gunpoint. Leticia’s son dies after being struck by a car and she and Hank meet and hook up without her knowing that he was the one that walked her husband to his execution. When Hank’s father insults Leticia she cuts ties with him only to get back with him later and find out that he was there on the night her husband was executed. Despite it all they stay together, content in one another’s company.
3. Friday Night Lights
Football is something you just don’t mess with in Texas since it’s a way of life even at the high school level since it’s what people are into and what gives their school a great deal of pride. That’s why when a star player is injured after being kept in the game for too long it’s on the coach a lot of times that the criticisms will fall fast and hard. Gaines knows very well throughout the film that his job is on the line with every game since the school board, the parents, and the very community are going to be looking at him when it comes to winning and losing since he’s the captain of the ship so to speak and they sink or swim based on his actions.
2. Bad News Bears
The Bad News Bears has never been the typical success story since quite honestly they did lose when the game was on the line. But at the same time the band of misfits that didn’t seem to like each other and could just barely play the game learned a valuable lesson at the hands of their coach no matter how hard it might have been. Buttermaker was not the ideal coach, he wasn’t even the ideal father figure for one of his ex-girlfriends’ daughter, but he’s a guy that knows the game and when he’s sober knows how to get the kids pumped up when they really need it. Sometimes winning isn’t everything so long as you gain the confidence you need to keep moving forward.
1. Sling Blade
If all you saw in this movie was a mentally handicapped man that was trying to fit into a world where he didn’t really belong then you saw about half the movie. Karl knew he was different and he did his best to get along with everyone, but like any human being he had those in his life that he just didn’t care for, and Doyle was one of them. To be fair no one really cared for Doyle since he was an abusive jerk that knew how to manipulate people. But Karl eventually came to the decision that being incarcerated for another murder was better than having the stain of knowing that he could have and didn’t prevent his new friends from being killed on his conscience. In other words, Karl did the regrettable but right thing.
Billy Bob has played a few tragic characters in his career and they’ve almost always been his best.
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