Five favorite Billy Bob Thornton roles

Posted by Melissa Locker on September 5th

We’re showing “Monster’s Ball” tonight at 8/7c. It’s a blistering Southern gothic melodrama from director Marc Forster that is sure to get your stomach in a knot and your tear ducts flowing, so be sure to serve nachos because nachos solve everything, which is why they serve them at Camp David. (<---FACT*) The film stars Billy Bob Thornton as Hank Grotowski, a vehement racist whose wife committed suicide some years ago. He works as a corrections officer at a Louisiana prison. No one feels the sting of Hank’s seething bitterness more than his own son (Heath Ledger), whose own self-loathing reaches the point of no return when he follows in his mother’s footsteps after his father admits his lifelong hatred for him. This sudden tragedy prompts a turning point in Hank’s life as he strikes up a completely unexpected romance with the struggling widow (Berry) of the last prisoner he executed (Sean Combs), much to the chagrin of his ailing yet even more despicable father (Peter Boyle). Milo Addica and Will Rokos received an Oscar nomination for their original screenplay. While Halle Berry got a well-deserved Oscar for her portrayal of a grief-stricken widow, Thornton does an incredible job making racist corrections officer Grotowski into a sympathetic character. But that's what audiences have come to expect from Thornton, whether he's portraying a drunken seasonal employee or voicing a character in "Princess Mononoke," Thornton always delivers. Here's our list of five of our favorite Billy Bob Thornton roles: 1. Ed Crane in “The Man Who Wasn’t There”

2. Coach Gary Gaines in “Friday Night Lights”

3. Jacob in “A Simple Plan”

4. Willie in “Bad Santa”

5. Karl Childers in “Slingblade”

* Not a fact

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“Monster’s Ball” airs tonight at 8/7c; Thursday, Sep. 6 at 12:45 AM ET; Tuesday, Sep. 18 at 11:00 PM ET; and Wednesday, Sep. 19 at 1:30 AM ET