Billy Bob Thornton has a swagger, there is no doubt about it. At the Pennisula Hotel, Thornton sat down with myself and two other reporters. He started drawing on a little pad of paper, making quick eye contact at best, quiet. Then, a couple minutes later, he revealed what he was drawing, a quick sketch of one of the reporters. Thronton gave a smirk, and that was that.
He's been acting since the mid 80s but really established himself with the 1996 film "Sling Blade" (french fried potaters mm, hmm), in which Thornton wrote, directed and starred. Since then, he's been in blockbusters like "Armageddon," critically acclaimed films such as "Monster's Ball" and more recently, comedies.
So, when Thornton took the lead role in "The Astronaut Farmer," it was a change of pace.
"I'd always wanted to do my Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper, 40s movie," said Thornton. "When I read the script I knew ("The Astronaut Farmer") was the one. And I was coming off a string of dark comedies."
In fact, he was coming off of five, with "Bad Santa," "The Ice Harvest," "Bad News Bears," "School for Scoundrels" and the upcoming "Mr. Woodcock," which has been done filming for years.
There was no audition for Thornton for the role of Charles Farmer, a man chasing his dream of being an astronaut. The Polish brothers are the men behind the $12 million-budgeted "The Astronaut Farmer." They wrote and directed it, as well as their previous films "Twin Falls Idaho" and "Northfolk."
The Polish brothers were looking for someone who could play both the character of Farmer and make a convincing astronaut. Two days after they sent the script to Thorton, he called back and said yes.
Charles Farmer is loosely based on the Polish brothers' dad. He was a trained pilot and had the boys sitting in a cockpit figuring out coordinates.
"I know that type of guy," Thornton said. "I grew up a dreamer. I think anybody in the entertainment business is a dreamer."
Thornton was able to bring his friends aboard as well. He called up Bruce Willis who has a cameo in the film. Two days before they were set to film, Willis was brought on as an old family friend of the Farmer's. Willis has co-starred with Thornton in "Armageddon," "Bandit," and the Polish brothers said when the two were on the set together, it was just them hanging out.
Thornton was also able to convince Jay Leno to play himself. But it appears Virginia Madsen might have been his favorite to work with.
There was joking between the Polish brothers on how friendly the two had become. Even saying that Thornton might have asked Madsen to marry him. Thornton has been married five times, most notably to Angelina Jolie.
I interviewed director Todd Phillips back in September and asked him about Thornton's acting. "He makes it looks effortless," he said. So when I told Thornton this, you could tell he had a lot to say. But before that, both he and I tried to remember the name of the film Phillips had directed him in. Was it, "School of Scoundrels," or "School for Scoundrels?"
"Sh*t, I can't remember," Thornton said.
He just stars in the movies, he doesn't need to remember their names. But more importantly, back to the acting ...
"Sometimes, most of the time (it's effortless)," Thornton said. "I think people like to hear actors talk about the process and how we did 18 hours a day and at the end I actually became an alcoholic for a few days."
Thornton believes good actors are people with a lot of life experience.
"I don't have a process," he said. "If I do, I don't know what it is. Some people can do it and some people can't."
Thornton's beliefs about acting and actors showed up in "Sling Blade," where he cast Rick Dial. They had been friends since elementary school and was a local furniture salesman in Arkansas.
"If they needed someone to talk to the student body, he was it, he was a natural," he said. Dial went on to have small roles in "The Apostle," "The General's Daughter," and the recent "Come Early Morning," but it seems in Thornton's eyes he is more impressed that Dial is still a furniture salesman in Arkansas.
"If you can ride a skateboard down a banister and crass through and split your nose in half, that's entertainment now," Thornton said. "Everything is fast food."
As for the idea that Thornton and Madsen may be a couple, well, I have no clue. I asked Thornton about it with Madsen sitting next to him. He told me a story about looking for a ring in Detroit (their previous tour stop) since she wouldn't accept one his current rings, but there was laughter throughout the story. They truly enjoyed being with each other.
"I still haven't accepted," Madsen added.
Whether there is any truth to that or not, with Thornton it doesn't seem to matter. He'll still have the swagger.