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BILLY BOB THORNTON on 'SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS'
Contributed by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor
for Radio Free Entertainment
September 15, 2006
In School for Scoundrels, a raucous comedy from director Todd Phillips (Old School, Road Trip), an abrasive and unscrupulous motivational speaker named Dr. P (Billy Bob Thornton) runs a class for social outcasts on how to stand up and be "real men." But when Roger (Jon Heder), a parking enforcement officer who signs up for his costly seminar, begins to make significant progress, the good doctor's competitive nature kicks into overdrive, and the two find themselves in a grudge match over the girl of Roger's dreams, Amanda (Jacinda Barrett).
School for Scoundrels is loaded with a good dose of physical comedy and verbal abuse from Billy Bob Thornton, a character trait he played up to riotously effective laughs in Bad Santa. In this interview, he talks about working on the project and tackling another comedy in which he plays the bad guy everyone loves to hate.
School for Scoundrels opens in theaters everywhere on September 29.
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The Interview
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MEDIA: So why did you want to do this project?
BILLY: Same reason I do any movie. They offered it to me, I liked the script. And I like Todd Phillips. And when they decided to cast Jon Heder...I really liked him from that movie he did. And plus, it's a good challenge to be able to play a complete asshole every now and then. [laughs]
How do you feel about them writing this role specifically with you in mind?
Well, ever since Bad Santa, people kind of like to watch me play that kind of guy. The difference in this character and sort of the Bad News Bears and Bad Santa is that those two characters operated more from their heart, I would say this guy more from his head. So I think that's the difference.
Is this a good role for you? The "asshole alpha male"?
It's more about comedy versus drama than anything else. I probably won't do any more comedies for a while, because I've done two or three now. So probably my next couple of roles will be dramas. I actually have a drama coming out in January. So I'll probably do that for a while now.
If you were to compare yourself to an animal, would you see yourself as a lion?
Well, I'm a Leo, so I guess I'm more of a lion. [laughs] A lion with extenuating circumstances, because I can be a sheep, too. [laughs] I'm a little bit of both. I guess early on in my life, I was more a lamb than a lion until I got to be about 18, and then I started hanging out with a rougher crowd.
What's your take on the whole self-help movement? How much do you agree with what your character said about losers trying to help themselves?
I think you should help yourself, there's no doubt about that. But in terms of the self-help stuff, I was never real big on it. I mean, most of that stuff's pretty corny. And particularly, when all the new age stuff started, I wasn't big on that kind of stuff, because most of it is stuff you already know anyway.
Common sense?
Yeah. I mean, some guy writes a book and makes a jillion dollars off of saying, "You have to empower yourself." It's like, "Really? No sh*t?" [laughs] We know that, it's just hard to do, you know?
Did you see the original film School for Scoundrels was based on?
Yeah, I did, but not recently. I saw it way back. But I always loved Terry-Thomas. I thought he was great.
How much truth do you think there is in the adage "nice guys finish last"?
I think there's a little truth in that, actually. I don't know if it's always true, but certainly, you see a lot of bad guys in the world doing okay, and everybody else suffers for it. So I would say there's some truth to that. I don't think it's a rule. You can certainly overcome it. I think it's better to be a nice guy, though.
Is it hard to be a nice guy in Hollywood?
Not for me, because I don't really participate much, I don't go out in Hollywood much. I rarely go out of the house. When I do, I don't mingle much with the sort of Hollywood crowd. I used to. In the beginning, you kind of have to. But then you reach a certain level of success where you don't have to necessarily go beat the bushes anymore, you know? It gets easier.
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There's a lot of physical comedy in this movie. Is it hard to keep a straight face? Or does some of it actually hurt?
Some of it hurts, yeah. Yeah, Jon whacked me with a tennis ball a few times. And you think, "Well, it's only a tennis ball." But if it's going that fast, it's not real pleasant. He accidentally, a couple of takes, he hit me with the racket, and that stung a little. But physical comedy is fun. It's not easy to make it look real. I mean, I grew up as sort of a semi-method guy, so I like to do the real thing, you know? It's like, if you're going to slap me, go ahead and slap me. And that can come back and bite you sometimes.
How did you feel to be all buttoned up in the suits?
It's not bad for a movie. I mean, I'll wear anything in a movie. I don't have many suits in real life. Well, I've got a few, but I don't use them. [laughs] I've never been much of a suit guy. I think maybe I've always had such problems with people who wear suits that maybe I have a phobia or something against them.
Is it the authority you don't like?
I don't know if it's that so much as I've never been much of a business person, and it just reminds me too much of business, I think.
What did you enjoy most about making this film?
Well, you know, once again, playing a character that...In real life, you don't get to boss people around like that. [laughs] So that's about the only chance you ever have to do that. It's fun to play somebody that's different than yourself. That's fun. And I had fun working with Todd Phillips. A really fun guy.
How did you like working with Jon Heder, as well as your other co-stars?
He's a really nice kid. I like him a lot. And he's very natural playing that part, so it was real easy. I also liked working with Jacinda. She's a very funny girl in real life. She was a lot racier than I thought she would be, you know? She'll tell a dirty joke at the drop of a hat...But she's great. Also, the lovable nutcases in the class, they were all great, too. I had worked with Matt before in Bad Santa. He had a scene or two in that. Horatio Sanz, I had been around when I hosted Saturday Night Live a few years ago. So I knew a couple of them. But they were really good. Really talented guys.
What about Michael Clarke Duncan?
I love Michael, he's great. We had done Armageddon together years ago, so I knew Michael already. He and I have always had a really good relationship. He's a fun guy. I'm late to the set a lot, and he started this thing with me where he charged me $100 each time I was late to the set. So according to him, I owe him $900 right now.
Are you going to pay up?
I don't know. I mean, he was late a couple of times, so I think I gotta deduct at least a couple of hundred dollars from it. But we'll see. We're still in negotiations.
What do you think about the movie's emphasis on lying?
Well, I think it's okay to lie if you're trying to save yourself. But just as a way of life, it's probably not so cool. I find that if you do lie, it sort of builds up, and then sooner or later, you're going to have to deal with it anyway, so you may as well just be straight from the beginning. I guess there are little white lies that are okay. I mean, if somebody says, "What do you think about my new orange blouse?" and you go, "Oh yeah, that's nice." I mean, you're not going to say, "You look like you work for Caltrans." [laughs] You don't say that. I think little lies don't hurt you that bad.
What do you tell your children about lying?
Sort of the same thing. I tell them, "Look, don't lie about big stuff, but you don't have to be rude to people. You don't have to tell people that their hair looks like hell or anything like that." But I teach them to be honest. Believe me, 2-year-olds are already honest. [laughs]
Did you think your character was nothing but a charlatan, or did you think he wanted to help people, at least a little?
Yeah, maybe a little. I think he probably gets a kick out of people a little bit. But at the same time, I think he was definitely selfish. He's a person who's out for himself, definitely.
Even though at the end he was kind of a success?
Yeah. I mean, through his sort of dastardly means, it actually does work. I mean, it's much the way a Marine drill sergeant would work, or somebody like that. If you ever let your guard down and show any weakness, it probably wouldn't work on these guys. So in that sense, yeah, it does work. I don't know how much he's hoping it works. I guess he does to keep his business going.
Thanks for your time.
Thanks a lot.
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