Billy Bob Thornton Tried Hiding Behind Fake Name Like Wilburys

Billy Bob Thornton gets annoyed when people call him just another actor trying to make music, and honestly, you can see his point. Sure, he's got an Oscar for screenwriting, directing credits, and acting awards from four decades in Hollywood, but he's not some celebrity who walked into a studio just to stroke his ego.

Music came first for Thornton - he'll tell you straight up that he didn't know squat about acting when he left Arkansas for California back in the '80s. The guy has been incredibly busy as a musician too, cranking out more albums than most of his famous peers who've tried switching from movies to music. His band The Boxmasters isn't exactly mainstream either - they formed in 2007 and have dropped nearly two dozen albums without hitting the charts.

The Celebrity Problem

Thornton has music running through his veins, but being a recognizable face means everything you do gets labeled as a hobby project. He didn't want his fame to overshadow the band's efforts, so he looked to the Traveling Wilburys for inspiration. That wasn't just any supergroup - we're talking Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty operating on a completely different level.

Those legends used fake names during their recordings - Lucky, Nelson, Otis, Leftie, and Charlie T Wilbury - keeping their real identities out of the credits and liner notes. Later they added Boo, Spike, Clayton, and Muddy to the mix. The whole point was putting their massive egos and reputations aside so the music could speak for itself, without all that superstar baggage weighing things down.

The 'Bud' Experiment

Thornton realized he'd have trouble blending in with his bandmates as just another guy, so he hatched a scheme. Not exactly foolproof since his face was still all over their promotional stuff, but he reinvented himself as WR 'Bud' Thornton, drummer and singer. "Bud sounded like a good name for a guy who is a Boxmaster," he told The Boot. "In the beginning, we were going to downplay me a lot. But sometimes, they won't let ya. We made up this whole story, kinda like the Traveling Wilburys, who all had different names, but then we thought we don't want it to look like we're trying to trick people."

Back to Reality

It was a creative idea, but since everyone already knew who he was, WR 'Bud' Thornton and his made-up background story eventually went back to being plain old Billy Bob. "When you look at a record cover, and I'm on it, there's no mystery," he admitted. "But I used the name because I simply like being part of a band. I don't like to be the star of something."