'I didn't want to kill Tom Cruise' Billy Bob Thornton on why he rejected Mission Impossible 3 role
Billy Bob Thornton has told how he rejected two high-profile movie villain parts, in 'Mission: Impossible III' and 'Spider-Man', because he doesn't like to portray a "bad guy in a big movie".
Billy Bob Thornton rejected the chance to play a 'Mission: Impossible III' villain because he "didn't want to be the guy trying to kill Tom Cruise".
The 'Bad Santa' actor wasn't interested in portraying arms dealer Owen Davian in the 2006 movie, which sees the character - who was played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman - go up against Cruise's Ethan Hunt.
And ahead of Sam Raimi's 2002 'Spider-Man' movie, Thornton turned down the part of Norman Osborn/ Green Goblin - which went to Willem Dafoe - because he didn't want to wake up in the early hours and sit in a makeup chair for "five or six hours".
Speaking The Playlist’s 'Bingeworthy' podcast, he said: "I don’t have much interest in those kinds of roles.
"With the Green Goblin, I didn’t feel like getting up at 4 a.m. for five or six hours of makeup.
"And with 'Mission: Impossible III', I didn’t want to be the guy trying to kill Tom Cruise."
Thornton prefers not to be typecast as a "bad guy in a big movie".
He added: "If you’re the bad guy in a big movie like that, audiences remember it forever.
"I prefer to keep things looser and less predictable."
When Thornton does accept roles, he doesn't always watch himself back - because he gets "nervous" about seeing his work on screen.
The 69-year-old star recently received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in 'Landman', and his on-screen character has developed a big fan following on social media, but Billy Bob has made a concerted effort to avoid the online acclaim.
The actor - who plays Tommy Norris, a landman at an oil company, in the drama series - told 'Extra': "I get nervous watching myself, so I haven’t actually seen them myself."
