The most challenging scene of Billy Bob Thornton’s career: “The hardest thing I ever did in my life”
It’s easy to forget now that he’s embarked on indulging his musical passions, but Billy Bob Thornton is a highly accomplished actor. From appearances in Tombstone, Monster’s Ball, and Armageddon to winning an Oscar for penning the screenplay for Sling Blade, Thornton has done it all on screen and occasionally pops up in films from time to time, like Netflix’s The Gray Man or the upcoming Russo brothers project, The Electric State.
Across his many movies and dozens of starring roles, there isn’t much that Thronton hasn’t experienced as an actor. He’s played every kind of character, from a raucous mall Santa Claus to a former child murderer to the President of the United States in Love, Actually. Even after all these years, however, one experience stands out from the rest, and not for good reasons.
When chatting with Collider, Thornton recalled the toughest scene of his entire career. “There was a scene in a movie called A Simple Plan,” he began. “It was me, Bill Paxton, and Chelsea Ross, who was a sheriff, and my dog Bart. But the windchill that night in Upper Wisconsin was 60 below zero. There was hardly any way to stay still. We’re shivering every minute. They had tents with those old space heaters that kind of looked like a rocket and shot fire out on them, and even that didn’t warm you up. If you got close enough to feel the heat, it would catch your clothes on fire.”
A Simple Plan from 1998 is a crime thriller directed by Sam Raimi. Thornton plays Jacob Mitchell, who, along with his brother Hank, discovers a crashed plane near their Minnesota home containing over $4million in cash. The movie was filmed in both Minnesota and Wisconsin and, although fake snow was used in some scenes, the cast and crew were often subjected to freezing temperatures and hostile conditions.
“I didn’t know how we were gonna get through that,” Thornton continued. “I mean, to actually say dialogue, and be real, and try to ignore that kind of cold – that was probably the hardest thing I ever did in my life. I remember some critics saying it was such an interesting choice that I chose to move my legs back and forth. It’s like, that wasn’t a choice, man.” Despite nearly freezing to death, Thornton’s performance was received well by critics. He was even nominated for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ at the Academy Awards but lost out to James Coburn for his role in Affliction.
Thornton managed to survive his harrowing experience on the set of A Simple Plan, but it served as a bitter reminder that show business isn’t as glamorous as it is sometimes depicted. “Sometimes, you’re in danger,” Thornton added. “Sometimes, elements are really horrible. You can always tell how unglamorous the movie business is when people come to visit you and they leave going, ‘These are movie stars; are you kidding me? That looks like they’re working at a sawmill.’”
Even with the risk of life and limb attached to the job and his recent conversion to music, Thornton still claimed to love working in the movies. “One way or the other, we’re still very lucky people,” he said of himself and his fellow actors. “I feel fortunate every day that I’ve been able to have the career I’ve had, and I appreciate every minute of it.”
