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Billy Bob Thornton has a style hack that might surprise you: women’s jeans.
The 69-year-old Hollywood icon spilled the secret during his appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, which aired Tuesday, November 19, explaining that the fit just works better for him.
“The reason I don’t like to wear men’s jeans is because they’re all too baggy,” Thornton said. “I’ve got bird legs and it just feels like I’m in a tent. I like a nice fit and they fit great with boots.”
The Friday Night Lights actor, who was wearing a pair of black Levi’s women’s jeans during the show, shared that he wears a size 6. The tidbit left host Drew Barrymore in shock, quipping, “Size 6? I couldn’t get my right butt cheek in those.”
Thornton’s love for denim is nothing new — he’s been rocking jeans as a signature look for decades. At the 1996 Sling Blade premiere, he went full denim-on-denim with a light-wash jacket and jeans. In 1999, he made a bold statement at the Film Critics Association Awards with a cheetah-print shirt and classic denim bottoms.
More recently, the Oscar winner kept it low-key but sharp at the Landman premiere in Los Angeles on Tuesday, November 12, pairing slim black jeans with cowboy boots, a plaid shirt, a black coat, and a hat.
For those out of the loop, Landman is a Paramount+ drama that dives into the high-stakes world of the Texas oil industry. Thornton plays Tommy Norris, an executive and “fixer” for a fictional oil company owned by billionaire Monty Miller, played by Jon Hamm.
Explaining his role to The Hollywood Reporter, the Bad Santa star said, “A landman is a guy that procures the leases for the land and then is in charge of running the crews that work them. And he’s also responsible for making sure it makes money for his boss…” He continued, “It’s a big job. It’s a lot of responsibility. A lot of driving in your truck. A lot of going out to oil fields. A lot of going to meet with your boss in his mansion. Like a glorified foreman in a lot of ways.”
In addition to chatting about his love for women’s jeans and his new show, Thornton opened up about his 22-year relationship with wife Connie Angland. Married for the past 10 years, the couple shares a 20-year-old daughter, Bella. Thornton, who met the 60-year-old Men in Black actress on the set of Bad Santa, credits her with helping him through a rough patch, saying, “She kind of drug me out of the gutter, which was awesome.”
Thornton is also dad to Amanda, 45 (whom he shares with his first wife, Melissa Lee Gatlin), and sons William, 31, and Harry, 30 (whom he shares with his ex-wife Pietra Dawn Cherniak).
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