Why Billy Bob Thornton rejected roles in two movies worth $1 billion: “Audiences remember it forever”
Billy Bob Thornton has scored roles in many memorable movies and television shows over the years, from Tombstone and All the Pretty Horses to the series adaptation of Fargo.
The actor has carved out a name for himself as one of the more reliable villains in the movie world. Blessed with a supremely sinister smile but a magnetic intensity that allows you to understand with a simple twitch of the eyebrow that every tooth behind that smile is being sharpened to devour you.
The ability to deliver maniacal lines with cultured calmness has made him a go to for villainous roles. And while those kinds of performances can often be fun, some roles in the ‘baddie’ section of the movie business also come with hefty downsides. Those negative strokes in the con column were enough for Thornton to turn down two movies that would go on to gross over $1billion at the box office.
Box office numbers aren’t everything, but Thornton’s decision also likely cost him a chance at superhero infamy as he confirmed that one movie he turned down during his career was 2002’s Spider-Man, a blockbuster that reinvigorated the genre and gave Willem Dafoe a timeless piece of cinematic history to call his own in the form of The Green Goblin.
The picture is often considered one of the finer entries into the superhero canon. With Tobey maguire as the titular hero, Dafoe is ace as his vital villainous foe. Allowed to ham it up, Dafoe grab his opportunity with relish and delivered a powerhouse performance. Thornton was also given another chance to join a juggernaut frnachise when Mission: Impossible came a-knocking.
Owen Davian in Mission: Impossible III is a bout as perfect a role for Thornton’s method of malicious intent as you are expected to find. The role eventually went to Philip Seymour Hoffman, but it is hard to shake what Thornton would have done with the maniacal arms dealer. But, it just wasn’t to be; Thornton rejected both roles, and why? For his beauty sleep.
Speaking on The Playlist’s Bingeworthy podcast, Thornton revealed: “I don’t have much interest in those kinds of roles,” he said. “With the Green Goblin, I didn’t feel like getting up at 4 am for five or six hours of makeup. And with Mission: Impossible III, I didn’t want to be the guy trying to kill Tom Cruise.”
It’s notable that Thornton didn’t simply reject these films out of a distaste for big-budget action or comic book movies. Aside from not wanting to be in a makeup chair for hours on end, he simply doesn’t want to be pigeonholed. Regarding his decision to reject Mission: Impossible, he elaborated, “If you’re the bad guy in a big movie like that, audiences remember it forever. I prefer to keep things looser and less predictable.”
Thornton’s other career choices have borne this out. While he has shown a particular skill for portraying villains, his chilling role in Fargo being a prime example, he has managed to play a range of other characters, including a four-season run as a washed-up attorney in the series Goliath, a football coach in Friday Night Lights, and a department store Santa who also happens to be a thief in the beloved black comedy Bad Santa.
