Billy Bob Thornton rejected the chance to play a 'Mission: Impossible III' villain because he "didn't want to be the guy trying to kill Tom Cruise".
Billy Bob Thornton on why he rejected Mission Impossible 3 role
The 'Bad Santa' actor wasn't interested in portraying arms dealer Owen Davian in the 2006 movie, which sees the character - who was played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman - go up against Cruise's Ethan Hunt.
And ahead of Sam Raimi's 2002 'Spider-Man' movie, Thornton turned down the part of Norman Osborn/ Green Goblin - which went to Willem Dafoe - because he didn't want to wake up in the early hours and sit in a makeup chair for "five or six hours".
Speaking The Playlist’s 'Bingeworthy' podcast, he said: "I don’t have much interest in those kinds of roles.
"With the Green Goblin, I didn’t feel like getting up at 4 a.m. for five or six hours of makeup.
"And with 'Mission: Impossible III', I didn’t want to be the guy trying to kill Tom Cruise."
Thornton prefers not to be typecast as a "bad guy in a big movie".
He added: "If you’re the bad guy in a big movie like that, audiences remember it forever.
"I prefer to keep things looser and less predictable."
When Thornton does accept roles, he doesn't always watch himself back - because he gets "nervous" about seeing his work on screen.
The 69-year-old star recently received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in 'Landman', and his on-screen character has developed a big fan following on social media, but Billy Bob has made a concerted effort to avoid the online acclaim.
The actor - who plays Tommy Norris, a landman at an oil company, in the drama series - told 'Extra': "I get nervous watching myself, so I haven’t actually seen them myself."
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