Billy Bob Thornton may be an acclaimed actor with decades of great work under his belt, but the Arkansas native still maintains a down-to-earth approach to fame.

Looking back on his successful career in a new interview with Fox NewsThornton confessed that he’s glad his mainstream breakthrough didn’t come in his early years on screen.

“I’m glad I became famous or successful — whatever you want to call it — in my 30s,” Thornton said. “I think if it had happened when I was 18 or 21, who knows if I would even be here now, because I was a little more relaxed back then.”

“I think if I had been nominated for an Oscar when I was 21, who knows what I would have done with it?” he added.

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In the 1970s, as a teenager and early 20s, Thornton played drums in a blues-rock band called Tres Hombres; He even has a tattoo of his old band’s name. They released their only album, gunslinger, in 1983. In 1985, Thornton joined the South African rock band Jack Hammer, joining the group for their 1986 album Death of a gypsy.

He then moved into the world of acting after spending more than a decade as a musician. He had his first film role in 1986 Hunter’s bloodbut it wasn’t until his directorial debut in 1996 Slingbladewhich earned him an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and a nomination for Best Actor, making him a household name.

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Ultimately, this long road to widespread recognition proved to be a blessing, which is why he described his time in the music industry as “a blast.”

“I’m kind of glad about that because I grew up in the music business, so I already knew about the entertainment industry, but not to this extent,” he concluded. “I think growing up as a musician helped prepare me for some of that because we could be local heroes, sometimes as musicians or regionally. But that was great fun.”

New episodes of Thornton’s latest series, the brainchild of Taylor Sheridan Countrymanstream every Sunday on Paramount+.