Billy Bob Thornton says he’s glad he didn’t achieve fame until middle age.
“If I had made it as an actor when I was in my 20s or younger, I may not even be here now,” the “Gray Man” actor, 66, told People, adding he wasn’t “equipped” at that time “to handle that.”
The Oscar-nominated “Sling Blade” star and Academy Award-winning screenwriter of the 1996 film — based on his one-man show and short film — also directed the movie that boosted his fame.
As a young man, Thornton said he “had a history … of certain chemical refreshments and things like that.
“I don’t know if I would’ve made it through,” Thornton continued. “I’m happy that things unfolded in a way that I didn’t force, that they just happened. I still appreciate that.”