Billy Bob Thornton Turned Down Roles in Billion-Dollar Franchises Spider-Man and Mission Impossible – And Here’s Why He Doesn’t Regret It

Table of Contents

• The Roles That Got Away
• "I Just Didn't Want to Be That Guy"
• Willem Dafoe and Philip Seymour Hoffman Stepped In
• Thornton Today: From Villains to Oil Rigs

The Roles That Got Away

Billy Bob Thornton, the unforgettable star of Bad Santa and Armageddon, recently spilled the tea in the latest episode of the Bingeworthy podcast. He revealed that he was never into playing villains — not even the ones in mega-hit franchises that raked in billions.

Back in the early 2000s, Thornton was offered not one, but two major villain roles: Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and Owen Davian, the ruthless arms dealer in Mission: Impossible III. But he turned them both down without a second thought. Yep, you read that right!

"I Just Didn't Want to Be That Guy"

"I don’t have much interest in those kinds of roles," Thornton admitted. "With Green Goblin, I didn’t want to get up at 4 AM for six hours of makeup. And with Mission: Impossible 3, I didn’t want to be the guy trying to kill Tom Cruise. Once you play a villain in a blockbuster like that, people remember it forever."

Instead, Thornton said he prefers more relaxed, less predictable roles. And judging by his diverse filmography, he’s stayed true to that philosophy.

Willem Dafoe and Philip Seymour Hoffman Stepped In

After Thornton passed, Willem Dafoe was cast as Green Goblin — and fans still say his performance is one of the best villain portrayals in superhero movie history. Meanwhile, Philip Seymour Hoffman took on the role of Davian in Mission: Impossible III, delivering a chilling performance that remains unforgettable.

Dafoe even returned to the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home, where he crushed it once again. But don’t call it a cameo! "I really didn’t want to do a cameo," Dafoe told The Mary Sue. "I wanted the role to have meaning. And I definitely wanted to do the action scenes. They're just so much fun."

Thornton Today: From Villains to Oil Rigs

As for Billy Bob, he's still doing his thing — just on his own terms. Right now, you can catch him in the dramatic series Landman on Paramount+. The show was created by Taylor Sheridan (yep, the mastermind behind Yellowstone) and Christian Wallace. No spandex, no explosions, just pure Billy Bob doing what he does best.

Guess you don’t need a billion-dollar franchise when