Billy Bob Thornton reflected on finding huge success later in life after struggling in his early Hollywood years.

During an interview with Fox News Digital, the 69-year-old actor, who stars in Taylor Sheridan’s new series Landman, explained that he believed that becoming famous as he progressed in his career would ultimately benefit him and would contribute to its longevity. in his profession.

“I’m glad I became famous or successful – whatever you want to call it – in my 30s,” Thornton said.

“I think if it had happened when I was 18 or 21, who knows if I would still be here now because I was a little looser then,” he continued with a smile.

BILLY BOB THORNTON SAYS THERE IS A ‘BIASE AGAINST THE SOUTH’ IN HOLLYWOOD

“And yes, I’m quite happy with that, because I grew up in the music business, so I was already familiar with the entertainment world, but not to that extent. And I think growing up as a musician helped prepare me for some of it, because we could be local heroes, sometimes as musicians or regionally. But this was a big blow.”

“And I think if I had been nominated for an Academy Award at 21, who knows what I would have done with it?”

WATCH: ‘Countryman’ Star Billy Bob Thornton Admits He’s Glad He Didn’t Become Successful Earlier in Life

Born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Thornton moved around the state several times with his family before settling in the town of Malvern. In an August interview with The Houston Chronicle, Thorton recalled working with brothers Nick and Mike Shipp in their father’s equipment rental business. While in Arkansas, Thornton, Nick and Mike formed a rock trio called Nothin’ Doin and moved to Houston, Texas in the 1970s when the company was relocated.

After moving to Houston, Nothin’ Doin’ played a gig at the club Cardi’s, where a promoter heard them and noted that the trio had a similar sound to the rock band ZZ Top. At the promoter’s suggestion, Nothin’ Doin’ became the ZZ Top cover band Tres Hombres, named after the legendary group’s hit album from 1973.

Tres Hombres featured Mike on guitar and vocals, Nick on bass and vocals, with Thornton as drummer. They found success playing local clubs in Houston.

“We’ve been playing their songs really well in the Houston area,” Thornton told the Houston Chronicle. “We played at parties and places that I don’t think are there anymore.”

During their time together, Tres Hombres released one album, 1983’s ‘Gunslinger’, which contained nine original songs.

Around 1985, Thornton moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. For the first few years he struggled to land roles and supported himself by working between auditions as a telemarketer, offshore wind farmer and fast food manager.

Thorton joined the West Coast Theater Ensemble and made his acting debut in the one-man play ‘Beethoven Symphonies’. He had small roles in a handful of films and TV shows and became a cast member on the CBS sitcom “Hearts Afire,” which ran from 1992 to 1995.

During an appearance on “Charlie Rose,” Thornton recalled working as a waiter at a Hollywood party when he met legendary director Billy Wilder. The two began a conversation in which Wilder suspected that Thornton wanted to become an actor.

Wilder told Thornton that he was “too damn ugly to be a movie star” and suggested that he become a screenwriter to create his own acting opportunities.

“That’s your ticket,” Thornton recalled Wilder telling him. ‘That’s the only way to save it. So write your own stuff, play your own stuff, make your own way. You know, no one will wait for you. ”

Thornton then co-wrote the 1991 independent film ‘One False Move’ with his frequent collaborator Tom Epperson and also starred in the film as the murderous criminal Ray Malcolm. The low-budget crime thriller received critical acclaim and jump-started the then 36-year-old’s career in the entertainment industry.

The actor had small roles in the mid-1990s films ‘Indecent Proposal’, ‘Bound by Honor’, ‘Tombstone’, ‘On Deadly Ground’, ‘The Stars Fell on Henrietta’ and ‘Dead Man’ before he broke through with his own independent project.

At the age of 41, Thornton directed, wrote and starred in the 1996 independent film “Sling Blade.” The crime thriller followed Karl Childers (Thornton), a mentally disabled man who is released from the psychiatric hospital where he spent most of his life after killing his mother and her lover. Childers wants to start a new life in a small town and befriends a young boy and his mother.

Thornton rose to fame after ‘Sling Blade’ became a surprise hit at the box office and received critical acclaim from critics. The Arkansas native won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay and earned an Oscar nomination for his performance. He then earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1998 neo-noir crime thriller “A Simple Plan.”

The ‘Bad Santa’ actor has also received numerous accolades for his work on television. He won a Golden Globe Award for his starring role in the first season of the FX anthology series “Fargo” and was also nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie. Thornton won his second Golden Globe for his performance in the Amazon legal drama series “Goliath,” which he starred in for four seasons from 2016 to 2021.

In addition to acting, Thornton has also continued his music career. In 2001, the country singer released his debut solo album ‘Private Radio’, which he followed up with 2003’s ‘The Edge of the World’, 2005’s ‘Hobo’ and 2007’s ‘Beautiful Door’. Thornton is also the frontman of the rock band The Boxmasters, which he founded in 2007 with recording engineer JD Andrew. The Boxmasters have released 17 albums and debuted in June with their latest record ‘Love & Hate In Desperate Places’.

Thornton now returns to the small screen with Sheridan’s new series ‘Landman’. The show marks the on-screen reunion of Thornton and his “Indecent Proposal” co-star Demi Moore and also stars Ali Larter and Jon Hamm, with guest appearances from Michael Peña and Andy Garcia.

A synopsis of the plot reads: “Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, ‘Landman’ is a modern-day tale of seeking fortune in the world of oil rigs.”

Based on the remarkable 11-part podcast “Boomtown,” the series is an “upstairs/downstairs story of losers and wild billionaires fueling a boom so big it’s reshaping our climate, our economy, and our geopolitics.”

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“Boomtown” host Christian Wallace teamed up with Sheridan to create the 10-episode Paramount+ show, which premiered Nov. 17.

WATCH: BILLY BOB THORNTON SHARES HOW HE CAME TO BE A STAR ON TAYLOR SHERIDAN’S NEW SHOW ‘COUNTRYMAN’

Thornton, who leads the cast of “Landman,” plays Tommy Norris, a crisis manager at an oil company. During his interview with Fox News Digital, Thornton recalled that Sheridan approached him about the show after the actor appeared in the “Yellowstone” prequel series “1883.”

“I did a cameo in ‘1883’ for Taylor and at the after-gathering for that I was sitting next to him and he said, ‘Listen, I’m glad I can be with you and everything because I have this project and I wanted to do this do with you. He said, ‘I’m writing something for you called ‘Landman’. He told me (about) the world it’s set in, which I knew something about, but I thought, ‘Well, that’s interesting. I haven’t actually seen anything about this since the movie “Giant.”’”

Thornton noted that he loved “Giant,” the 1956 epic Western drama starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and Dean Martin.

“And I thought this could be the streaming version of ‘Giant,’ but even more dangerous and crazier,” Thornton said. “So it was kind of a no-brainer. Plus, Taylor basically said, “Look, I know your voice.” I’m going to write this for you. He says, ‘This part will be you if you were a husbandman.’

WATCH: BILLY BOB THORNTON ON IF HE FEELS PRESSURE TO MAKE THE NEW SHOW ‘LANDMAN’ A HIT

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Sheridan achieved enormous success with the epic Western drama ‘Yellowstone’ and the successful spin-offs ‘1883’ and ‘1923’. He is also the creator of the hit crime series “Tulsa King,” starring Sylvester Stallone, and “Mayor of Kingstown,” headlined by Jeremy Renner.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Thornton shared his thoughts on whether he felt pressure to make “Landman” a hit after Sheridan’s previous successes.

“Sure,” Thornton said. “Any time someone has had a success — let’s say a director has directed 12 huge movies that everyone loves — you don’t want to be the guy who bombs it,” Thornton said, laughing.

He continued, “So yeah, there’s a lot of pressure because of the success he’s had with the other shows. But you know, there’s always an audience for all kinds of things.’

“And I’m sure Taylor loves this, and we all love it,” Thornton added. “All the people who took part in this love it.”