Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an aspiring American actor, filmmaker, and a hobbyist singer-songwriter and drummer. Thornton made his first break with co-writing and starring in the 1992 thriller
One False Move and came to international attention after writing, directing, and starring in the
independent drama Sling Blade (1996), for which he won an
Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Actor. He appeared in several film roles in the 1990s following
Sling Blade, including
Oliver Stone's neo-noir
U Turn (1997), political drama
Primary Colors (1998), science fiction disaster film
Armageddon (1998) and the crime drama
A Simple Plan (1998), which earned him his third
Oscar nomination.