This Morning’s Alison Hammond jumps in to hug Hollywood star as he reveals health battle and ‘drinking champagne at 6am’
THIS Morning’s Alison Hammond jumped in to hug Billy Bob Thornton as he revealed his secret health battle, which saw him ‘drinking champagne at 6am’ today.
Billy, 69, spoke candidly about his struggles during an appearance on the ITV daytime show today with Demi Moore, Jon Hamm and Ali Larter.
While he was there to promote his Paramount+ drama, Landman, the Hollywood star found himself opening up about his ongoing battle with anxiety disorder.
When host Dermot O’Leary asked about Billy’s recent music tour, the actor shared the toll it had taken on his routine.
He explained: “I just came off tour with The Boxmasters. We were off two days, and I flew to London.
“I’ve been on a bus for two and a half months… It was a very successful tour, and we just put out a record called Love and Hate in Desperate Places.”
Billy then revealed his struggle to readjust to a typical schedule after weeks of late nights.
“I usually wake up about 1 in the afternoon,” he admitted, prompting laughter from Alison.
“I stay up till 4 or 5 in the morning talking with the guys, then sleep all day, do another show, and repeat it all.”
With his rock-and-roll lifestyle now clashing with the early starts required for his promo commitments, Billy shared that the time difference and lack of sleep had led to an especially rough night.
He confessed: “I slept two and a half hours last night. I almost thought I was paralyzed,” describing how he began having “circular thoughts” and hallucinations.
Billy continued: “I went on the patio at six o’clock this morning, because I was so nerved up.
“I have anxiety disorder… I was anxious all night, called my wife, called my daughter, and then went on the balcony and had a glass of champagne at six o’clock.”
Moved by his vulnerability, Alison didn’t hesitate to offer support.
“You know what we normally do for anxiety?” she asked. “We bring it in. Can we give him an Alison hug?”
She wrapped her arms around Billy, who appeared visibly touched by the gesture.
“Did you like it?” Alison asked with a big smile, and Billy responded, clearly more at ease, “I know I’m less anxious now.”
Just yesterday, Billy was branded ‘unrecognisable’ by The One Show fans after his appeared on the programme with Jon.
Many BBC viewers couldn’t recognise Billy, who wore two hats.
On social media, someone said: “What on earth is Billy Bob Thornton wearing on his head on The One Show? He looks really odd.”
A second person questioned: “Anyone watching The One Show? What is Billy Bob Thornton wearing?”
Others were quick to add that they thought the actor looked unrecognisable with his tilted trilby hat and dark beard.
Billy is an actor, writer, director, and musician.
He has been married six times and has four children from three different women.
In 2000, Billy briefly married Angelina Jolie, but their divorce was finalised in 2003.
Billy has appeared in over 50 movies and television shows, making his debut in the late 1980s.
Billy and Jon joined Alex Jones and Clara Amfo for the chat about their new series.
And actor Billy has a leading role in Landman.
Discussing his role, Billy said: “Landman is certainly, I guess you’d call it a lot of ways the foreman, he deals with all the people in the oil fields, and his boss which is Jon.
“There’s a lot of pressure to make sure all of that comes off in a very dangerous world. He’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Tommy has a sense of humour, but there’s a lot of pressure all the time, as John said this is about how you get this oil out of the ground, and how it affects the people around you, your family and friends.
“There’s a character, who plays my son who wants to do this and it’s lilke telling our children ‘’don’t be an actor’’ one way or another, it’s a very high pressure job.”
He continued: “A lot of people think billionaires stay billionaires, but in the oil business it’s a gamble, and it’s my job to make sure he doesn’t.”