Billy Bob Thornton: 5 Awesome Performances & 5 That Sucked

1. Willie Stokes - Bad Santa

The best Christmas movie ever €“ for people who despise Christmas €“ Bad Santa finds Billy Bob in the role of a sleazy, alcoholic thief posing as a department store Santa. His character is introduced puking outside a bar, which tells the audience all they need to know. He€™s a bitter, vile human being and Thornton has a complete blast playing him. In the wrong hands Willie Stokes could have just been a nasty, irredeemable jerk but Billy Bob gives him a little glimmer of humanity that prevents him being completely hateful. His relationship with a lonely boy is touching, but the movie stops short of being gooey and sentimental about it. It helps that he has a great comedy script full of awesome zingers, and an awesome supporting cast. In many ways, Bad Santa would be become his signature role, though the movie€™s success meant he€™d be typecast in "jerk€ roles for years to come. A sequel €“ creatively titled Bad Santa 2 €“ will be released November 2016.
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Handsome. Charismatic. Intelligent. Noble. Witty. I'm none of these things, but I'm a half decent writer, I guess.