Billy Bob Thornton still believes Hollywood looks down on people from the South.
During an appearance on Joe Rogan‘s podcast, Thornton lit a cigarette and said there was a “prejudice” when he first arrived on the scene in Los Angeles – and it hasn’t fully gone away.
“There was a prejudice in Hollywood when I first got out there. There still kind of is,” Thornton, who was born and raised in Arkansas, said on “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
The “1883” star said that once actors “reach a certain level,” it doesn’t matter where they’re from, but it was a struggle for Thornton to land roles early on in his career.
“The first thing I ever auditioned for in LA was a student film. The part was some guy that just got off the turnip truck from Alabama, and I thought, ‘Well, I probably got this.’ And I was broke, and it wasn’t going to pay anything, but I didn’t care,” Thornton said.
To his recollection, the casting director and producer were both from New York.
“I did my little audition, and they said, ‘Can you do it more Southern?’ and I’m like, ‘Are you sh—ing me? I actually did just get off the truck from back there and this is how you talk,'” Thornton said.
The men told him he wasn’t “Southern enough.”
“They wanted the Foghorn Leghorn accent. I never heard anybody talk, I grew up down there. I never heard that,” he said.
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Thornton did not get the part – it went to a guy from the Bronx, New York.
According to Thornton, people from the South rarely get noticed for roles in Hollywood. He also pointed out that people who are not from the South often get cast for Western roles – and win Academy Awards for them.
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“Southerners don’t often get picked or even noticed for things. Like, let’s say, you’re doing a gangster movie in the ’30s in New York, even if you can do the accent, but people from New York can get parts playing Southerners. That still goes on,” Thornton said.
Rogan chimed in and said, “That’s the stereotype of the coastal cities, right? It’s the stereotype that comes out of New York and L.A. It’s like everything else is stupid.”
“Yes,” Thornton replied.
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“They literally would call it the flyover states,” Rogan continued. “And when you’re in control of casting and all the great films and albums, you dismiss the people in the middle as less than, or that the people are not as bright. That stereotype still exists today.”
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Thornton’s breakout came with “Sling Blade” in 1996, a film he wrote, directed and starred in. The movie earned the star an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay and a nomination for best actor.
His other notable roles include “A Simple Plan,” “Friday Night Lights” and “The Alamo.”
Thorton returned to his Southern roots in the TV show “Landman” where he stars as Tommy Norris, a senior-level executive in the oil industry in West Texas. The show, created by “Yellowstone” founder Taylor Sheridan, will debut its second season on Paramount+ on Nov. 16.
