Billy Bob Thornton thought about achieving great 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 believes becoming famous ultimately benefited him when he was further along in his career , and contributed to his 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 even be here now, because I was a little more relaxed back then,” he continued with a smile.

Billy Bob Thornton says there is “prejudice against the South” in Hollywood

“And yeah, I’m kind of glad about that because I grew up in the music industry, so I was already familiar with being in the entertainment industry, but not to this extent. And I think it helped prepare me to grow up as a musician.” Sometimes we were able to be local heroes, sometimes we were able to be musicians or regional heroes. But that was great fun.”

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“And I think if I had been nominated for an Oscar when I was 21, who knows what I would have made of it?”

WATCH: ‘Landman’ star Billy Bob Thornton admits he’s glad he didn’t find success earlier in life

Born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Thornton and his family moved across the state several times before settling in the city of Malvern. In an August interview with The Houston Chronicle, Thorton recalled working with brothers Nick and Mike Shipp at 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 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 ZZ Top cover band Tres Hombres, named after the legendary group’s 1973 hit album.

Tres Hombres featured Mike on guitar and vocals, Nick on bass and vocals, and Thornton on drums. They had success at local clubs in Houston.

“We played their songs very well in the Houston area,” Thornton told the Houston Chronicle. “We played at parties and places that I don’t think exist anymore.”

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

Around 1985, Thornton moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. He struggled to get roles in the early years and made a living between castings 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 played small roles in a few films and television shows and joined the cast of the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire, which ran from 1992 to 1995.

During an appearance in “Charlie Rose,” Thornton recalled a part-time job as a waiter at a Hollywood party when he met legendary director Billy Wilder. The two began a conversation, during which Wilder suspected that Thornton wanted to be an actor.

Wilder told Thornton he was “too ugly to be a movie star” and suggested he become a screenwriter to create his own opportunities as an actor.

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

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

The actor took on small roles in the mid-1990s in the films “An Immoral Proposal,” “Bound by Honor,” “Tombstone,” “On Deadly Ground,” “The Stars Fell on Henrietta” and “Dead Man” before he His own independent project was successful with his film “The Breakthrough”.

In 1996, at age 41, Thornton directed, wrote and starred in the independent film “Sling Blade.” The crime thriller follows Karl Childers (Thornton), a mentally disabled man who is released from the psychiatric hospital where he spent most of his life after murdering his mother and her lover. Childers begins a new life in a small town and befriends a little boy and his mother.

Thornton skyrocketed to fame after Sling Blade became a surprise hit at the box office and received rave reviews from critics. The Arkansas native won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay and received an Oscar nomination for his performance. He received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1998 neo-noir crime film “A Simple Plan.”

The “Bad Santa” actor also received numerous awards 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 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 also continued his music career. In 2001, the country singer released his debut solo album “Private Radio,” which was followed by “The Edge of the World” in 2003, “Hobo” in 2005, and “Beautiful Door” in 2007. Thornton is also the frontman of the rock band The Boxmasters, which he founded in 2007 with sound engineer JD Andrew. The Boxmasters have released 17 albums and unveiled their latest album, Love & Hate In Desperate Places, in June.

Thornton now returns to the big screen with Sheridan’s new series Landman. The show marks the on-screen reunion of Thornton and his Indecent Proposal co-star Demi Moore, as well as Ali Larter and Jon Hamm in the lead roles, with guest appearances from Michael Peña and Andy Garcia.

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

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

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“Boomtown” host Christian Wallace has teamed up with Sheridan to produce the 10-episode Paramount+ show, the first season of which premiered on November 17th.

WATCH: BILLY BOB THORNTON TALKS HOW HE CAME TO BE A CAST IN TAYLOR SHERIDAN’S NEW SHOW LANDMAN

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 for Taylor in ‘1883’ and at the meeting afterwards I was sitting next to him and he said, ‘Listen, I’m glad I can be near you because I have this project.’ and I wanted to do that with you. He said, “I’m writing something for you called Landman.” He told me (about) the world it takes place in, which I knew something about, but I thought, “Well, that’s interesting. I haven’t seen anything like that 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,’ only more dangerous and crazy,” Thornton said. “So it was kind of a given. Also, Taylor basically said, ‘Look, I know your voice. I’ll write this for you. He says: ‘You’ll take on this role if you were one.’ Countryman.’”

WATCH: BILLY BOB THORNTON ON WHETHER HE FEEL PRESSURE TO MAKE NEW SHOW ‘LANDMAN’ A HIT

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Sheridan found great success with the epic western drama Yellowstone and its 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,” starring Jeremy Renner.

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

“Absolutely,” Thornton said. “Anytime someone has success — let’s say a director has made 12 great movies that everyone loves — you don’t want to be the guy that bombs it,” Thornton said with a laugh.

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 everything.”

“And I know Taylor definitely loves this song, and we all love it,” Thornton added. “All the people who took part love it.”

Original source of the article: Billy Bob Thornton admits he’s “lucky” he didn’t achieve success in his 20s