Billy Bob Thornton names his five favourite movies of all time
Whilst the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson are heaped with glory for their iconic performances across cinema history, countless other actors have never received proper recognition. Indeed, such icons as Charlotte Rampling, John Cazale, Toni Collette, and Billy Bob Thornton have never quite got the love they so deserve.
Thornton might be an underrated star, but the American actor and writer has long been present in Hollywood, providing fantastic performances in impressive ensemble casts. His career came to a head back in 1997 when he won an Academy Award for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’, whilst also receiving a nomination for ‘Best Leading Actor’ for the celebrated film Sling Blade which the star also directed.
In conversation with Rotten Tomatoes, the actor behind the celebrated TV series Fargo revealed his all-time favourite movies, naming a selection of stone-cold cinematic classics.
His first pick is the 1957 Elia Kazan movie A Face in the Crowd, starring Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal. “It’s probably as relevant today as it was at the time,” Thornton adds, “Made by a great filmmaker [Elia] Kazan, Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal were terrific in it. That last scene when he’s standing on the balcony with his applause machine yelling Patricia Neal’s name, oh man. It’s a very hard-hitting movie; I never got over it”.
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, directed by Alan Rafkin, is the actor’s second pick. The underrated 1966 classic tells the story of a typesetter trying to become a reporter who decides to take on a murder mystery case. “I love that movie, when I was a kid I went to the movie theater and saw it 14 times the first weekend,” Thornton revealed, adding: “You could see it over and over, they wouldn’t kick you out of the theater back then, so I would just stay there everyday and watch it. To this day, I still love that movie. I think it was brilliant”.
The 1956 western Giant by George Stevens is Thornton’s third pick, with the film starring James Dean as a cattle rancher in Texas. Speaking about the film, the actor states: “I can’t help but love Giant. A lot of people don’t take Giant seriously. A lot of people like Rebel Without a Cause when you’re talking about a movie with James Dean and it’s okay, but I thought James Dean was practically Soupy Sales in that movie. Very over the top”.
His penultimate pick is the Fred Zinnemann classic High Noon, which is a favourite of Sergio Leone and Quentin Tarantino. “It has every human emotion and condition in it, cowardice and bravery, fear, love, hate, desperation,” Thornton states, adding: “It’s a movie about how at the end of the day, who will be there for you. I just love that. It’s also done in real time, and the acting style was different in those days”.
Finally, Thornton’s top five is rounded off by the Sidney Lumet film The Verdict, starring Paul Newman and Charlotte Rampling. “This is a brilliant movie, and Paul Newman, out of everything he ever did, this was his greatest performance,” the actor states, praising the Hollywood legend, before adding, “James Mason, I hated in that movie more than any character I’ve ever hated as the defence attorney for the Catholic Church”.
Billy Bob Thornton’s five favourite movies of all time
- A Face in the Crowd (Elia Kazan, 1957)
- The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (Alan Rafkin, 1966)
- Giant (George Stevens, 1956)
- High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952)
- The Verdict (Sidney Lumet, 1982)
