Landman's Billy Bob Thornton Turned Down A Major Marvel Role For A Good Reason

Having firmly established himself in Hollywood, Billy Bob Thornton doesn't need to do much else with his career. But the actor is still going strong at age 70 with his starring role in "Landman," fully inhabiting the character of Tommy Norris on the plains of West Texas. It was a role the veteran star simply couldn't say no to, unlike when he turned down the opportunity to play Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Sam Raimi's legendary 2002 film "Spider-Man." Why would he say no to such a high-profile gig? Well, aside from the fact superhero movies at the time didn't have the reputation they'd eventually garner, he also didn't want to deal with the hassle of sitting in the makeup chair.

"Landman" was written for Thornton, and it shows. The actor's jaded yet driven wildcatter is basically Thornton in a Stetson, schlepping around West Texas to put out a never-ending series of fires and delivering wry quips as he does so. It's just damn good TV, and in the wake of the show's success, Thornton is experiencing a renaissance which will surely mean he has more offers flooding in than ever before. One thing we won't be seeing him do, however, is playing a bad guy in a big movie.

Billy Bob Thornton refuses to play a villain in blockbusters, even though he's played his fair share in the past (like when he appeared alongside his "Landman" co-star Sam Elliott in one of the greatest Westerns ever). A big reason for not crossing that particular line in the sand comes down to his belief that audiences wouldn't ever see him the same way again after playing a new villainous role. But with "Spider-Man," he had a far more practical reason for turning down Sam Raimi.

"Landman" character Tommy Norris isn't exactly a saint. The seasoned oil executive makes deals with the cartel and threatens his rivals, but he's also far from a villain. He loves his family, tries to do right by his workers, and remains loyal to his company. That's a good thing, because, to Billy Bob Thornton's surprise, "Landman" is a hugely successful show. As such, had he been playing an outright villain, mass audiences would have never forgotten it — at least according to the actor's own philosophy on playing bad guys in big projects.

When it came to Green Goblin, however, Thornton simply wasn't interested in the makeup process. In an interview on The Playlist's "Bingeworthy" podcast, the actor recalled how he'd said no to two major villain roles in his career: arms dealer Owen Davian in "Mission: Impossible III," and Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. "I don't have much interest in those kinds of roles," Thornton said. "With the Green Goblin, I didn't feel like getting up at 4 a.m. for five or six hours of makeup."

For what it's worth, the Green Goblin that was eventually portrayed by Willem Dafoe in "Spider-Man" didn't actually wear much in terms of makeup. Early on, Sam Raimi was testing a more makeup-heavy look for the villain, which would have involved a prothetic mask. But the final version of the supervillain's look was basically a suit and a metal mask, which would have taken a lot less time to fit on set. Perhaps when Thornton was in talks, Raimi had told him about the original prosthetics. Whatever the case, as great an actor as Thornton is, I'm pretty confident in saying the role went to the right guy in the end.