Star Refuses Spider-Man & Mission Impossible Roles, Shocks Hollywood in 2000s!

Billy Bob Thornton, known for his unforgettable roles, has never been keen on playing the antagonist. The Academy Award-winning actor recently shared why he declined villainous roles in both “Spider-Man” (2002) and “Mission: Impossible III” (2006), stating that he prefers to be “less predictable” in his career.

“I’m just not that into these kinds of parts,” he revealed during a December episode of the “Bingeworthy” podcast (via Deadline). “For the Green Goblin, I didn’t want to wake up at 4 AM to spend 5 or 6 hours in makeup. And for Mission: Impossible III, I didn’t want to be the guy trying to kill Tom Cruise. If you’re the villain in a big movie like that, you’re remembered forever. I prefer things to be more easy-going and less predictable.”

Eventually, Willem Dafoe took on the iconic role of Norman Osborn (aka the Green Goblin) in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man,” while Philip Seymour Hoffman portrayed arms dealer Owen Davian in “Mission: Impossible III.”

Recent Golden Globe Nomination

Despite passing on these roles, Billy Bob Thornton’s career hasn’t suffered. He won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of hitman Lorne Malvo in FX’s first season of Fargo and recently received his seventh Golden Globe nomination for his role in Taylor Sheridan’s (Yellowstone) “Landman,” where he plays a crisis manager for an oil rig platform. He discussed his latest character extensively in the same interview.

“If you’re in this world, it’s a hazardous job. You understand the risks involved,” Thornton told Deadline about the role. “My character has obviously done more subordinate jobs in the field. He’s been through it. He knows how it works, and now, suddenly, he’s like the foreman between the oil company owner and the workers in the oil fields.”

He continued: “There’s hardly any time to think in a landman’s job. You are always on the move. There’s always a problem to fix because it’s a real fixer’s job. You develop an obsession with success. I think he’s driven and doesn’t really think about it, even though he’s somewhat fatalistic about it.”

Watch Billy Bob Thornton in the series Landman, now streaming on Paramount+.

Check out the trailer for Landman below: