Billy Bob Thornton says just being himself led to movie stardom

As a young man coming up in Hollywood, Billy Bob Thornton was shown the door.

“ ‘You’re too ugly to be a leading man, and you’re too pretty to be a character actor,’ ” he recalls being told. “I decided to just be Billy Bob Thornton.”

Smart move.

It’s led the 70-year-old Hot Springs, Arkansas, native to a career full of memorable roles, including “Sling Blade” “Goliath,” “Fargo,” “Bad Santa” and now “Landman.”

The oil business drama, currently in its second season, is one of the biggest streaming hits on Paramount+.

Thornton says all the credit belongs to series creator Taylor Sheridan.

“Taylor gives us people who are unabashedly themselves,” he says.

In Season 2, Thornton’s character Tommy Norris has more responsibilities as president of the fictional petroleum company M-Tex now tha