He’s a celebrated actor known for movies like Slingblade, Monster’s Ball, Bad Santa, and others. He’s also the longtime frontman of his own rock band, The Boxmasters. Billy Bob Thornton has become a master at balancing the two and finding success with both.
He’s been on tour with The Boxmasters, doing shows across the country, while also promoting his new Paramount+ series LANDMAN (now streaming). Created by Taylor Sheridan (the man behind Yellowstone, Tulsa King, 1883) and based on a popular podcast called “Boomtown,” it explores the modern-day boom town world of the West Texas oil business.
Thornton plays the “Landman” himself, Tommy Norris, at the center of it all.
Norris constantly battles the ongoing pressure to keep his oil company on top, as he deals with every daily challenge and crisis that comes his way from all directions. Others in the series include Jon Hamm, Demi Moore, and Ali Larter.
“It’s a terrific cast,” Thornton says. “They’re all great, great people.”
Thornton was in Nashville, Tennessee for a show with The Boxmasters. The afternoon before he and his band took to the stage, Thornton attended an early screening of LANDMAN. He says he loves everything about new series.
“It’s written beautifully and when Taylor sent me the first two or three scripts, I said why wouldn’t I do this?”
The role allows him to move between his character’s hard-edged, fast-moving, profanity-laden business side as he handles the roughneck workers in the field and reporting to his billionaire boss (John Hamm). Then show a softer, gentler side as a father, specifically when dealing with his daughter on the show, played by Michelle Randolph.
“Michelle’s awesome and we have a great chemistry,” Thornton says. “Probably because I have a daughter who just turned 20.”
LANDMAN has been approved for a second season. It gives Thornton a good indication of what he’ll be doing in the near future on the acting side of things, as he plans for what he does next with his music. Interestingly, he was doing music long before he got involved with filmmaking.
“I grew up with music,” the Arkansas-native explains. “I’ve been touring since I was 16 years old. I was a roadie and did all kinds of stuff for a lot of big-name bands. “I came to California to play music and acting and movies came later.”
He formed The Boxmasters, with partner J.D. Andrew nearly two decades ago. Their sound draws from a wide range of influences.
“We grew up on the Beatles, the Kinks, the Animals, the British invasion, and that whole thing,” Thornton says. “And also, the Southern California pop rock of the Beach Boys, the Byrds, and people like that. We border on punk live.” He stops, laughs, then adds, “We’re a pretty loud ass rock and roll band.”
They’ve recorded and released 17 albums, so far. As a musician, Thornton began as a drummer. While he doesn’t play onstage with the band nowadays, it’s Thornton you hear on The Boxmasters’ albums. He also plays guitar, but mainly for songwriting. He’s a prolific songwriter, and this is where the acting and music world come together. In songs, as in films, it’s always about the story.
“It all starts with the writing,” he says. “Sometimes it just sounds like a rock and roll song but if you read the lyrics, the subject matter is usually much heavier than you think. And I love doing that, I love juxtaposition. I love doing a loud rock and roll song that has a great story.”
During their live shows, Thornton takes time in between some of the songs to share the stories that inspired them. And some of his stories are as entertaining as the songs themselves.
“We’re really proud of our songs,” he says. “And we’re also proud of our fans because they really stick with us. We have a pretty big cult following around the world. We connect with our audience and our audience connects with us. That’s a big thing for us.”
He usually keeps his music and acting separate from each other, but there will be some blending of the two with LANDMAN.
Thornton and his good friend, Mark Collie, who plays the Sheriff on LANDMAN and is an accomplished country music singer/songwriter, have written a song called “Midland After Midnight” that will likely be featured in the show. They’ve also written a collection of songs with some other well-known artists.
“We wrote a song with Ronnie Dunn and one with Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top who is my old buddy,” says Thornton. “And Clint Black and the Reverend Horton Heath. These are all people who are my friends. These songs won’t all be on the show, but they’ll be on the soundtrack.
Thornton says he’s often asked if he had to choose one over the other, would he choose music or acting? He says he loves them equally and is grateful he can do both.
“When it’s time for me to go on tour or make a record, the movie guys know to leave me alone. And when I’m making a movie, the music guys know, well we’ve got to start in September instead of June this year. So, the two have never butted heads. It’s been pretty easy.”
The Boxmasters just wrapped up their tour for 2024. To learn more about the band visit www.theboxmasters.com
The first two episodes of LANDMAN are available streaming on Paramount+ with a new episode added weekly, each Sunday.
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