Billy Bob Thornton has expressed a clear stance on keeping his political and personal beliefs private, despite his celebrity status. The actor, known for his role in “Landman,” recently shared his views on the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast, emphasizing his lack of interest in using his fame as a platform for political discourse.
“Politics isn’t my area of expertise,” the 70-year-old actor remarked during the podcast, highlighting the perceived pressure on public figures to have strong opinions on such matters. “I genuinely don’t have the answers. Even the things I do believe in, I prefer not to impose on others, as I’m no authority on the subject.”
Thornton humorously suggested that his decision to remain silent on various issues might be why he doesn’t frequent award shows as much as he did earlier in his career.
“I tend to steer clear of speeches about saving badgers or similar topics at award ceremonies,” quipped the “Friday Night Lights” star, underscoring his preference for maintaining a low profile when it comes to advocacy at public events.
“I’m not really big on like at awards shows all of a sudden you start talking about saving the badgers and stuff,” the “Friday Night Lights” actor said.
“Like Ricky Gervais said, you know, it’s like get your little award and f–k off, you know?”
It is not the first time Thornton has sounded off on the subject.
Appearing on “The Joe Rogan Experience” in November, he revealed he has been skipping award shows over the years after winning at “plenty of them” in the past.
“We’re gonna go over here and, you know, have some dry chicken breast and green beans, you know, and we’ll listen to people get up there and pontificate about how awesome they are,” he told Rogan.
“Those are the ones that get me. It’s like, how about if you’re going to get one of these things and you truly are honored by it, well, you honor the people who gave it to you. And don’t go up there and talk about saving, you know, the Badgers in Wisconsin or something.”
Thornton also went to bat for “Landman” creator Taylor Sheridan, accusing award shows of repeatedly snubbing the series out of political bias.
“I think a lot of it’s political. I really do,” he told Variety in January. “I think some people assume Taylor is some sort of right-wing guy or something, and he’s really not.”
Thornton, who stars in “Landman” as oil executive Tommy Norris, explained that awards voters may have the wrong idea about the show’s message.
“Even with this show being about the oil business, he just shows you what it’s like. He’s not saying ‘Rah, rah, rah for oil,’” he explained.
“It’s just the people who work in this business or who are affected by this business, the people on the periphery and within the families in the business; this is what happens.”
Yellowstone, Sheridan’s smash hit series, earned just one Emmy nomination across its five-season run — Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program in 2021.
Thornton burst onto Hollywood’s radar in 1996 with Sling Blade — a film he wrote, directed and starred in that earned him an Academy Award for best writing and a nomination for best actor.