Did Billy Bob Thornton really use crushed glass in his shoes in Sling Blade?

Did Billy Bob Thornton really use crushed glass in his shoes in Sling Blade? - High angle of pensive African American female freelancer in glasses and casual clothes focusing on screen and interacting with netbook while sitting at table with glass of yummy drink on cafe terrace in sunny day

I've seen all kinds of click bait and "top ten movie trivia" lists claiming that Billy Bob Thornton put crushed glass in his shoes during filming the movie Sling Blade to give his character a more authentic look to his shuffle of a walk. It is cited as a case of extreme method acting which is not uncommon. While I don't necessarily disbelieve the claim, I can't find anything from Billy Bob directly claiming this. Its all unofficial trivia lists without a source. So my question is where did this trivia originate and is it true?

sling-blademethod-acting


Best Answer

Yes, according to this MentalFloss article

  1. THORNTON PUT CRUSHED GLASS INSIDE HIS SHOES.

It gave him Karl’s famous limp.

Also corroborated by Chron (An independent Austin, TX newspaper) in this article

It hurt to play Karl Thornton told James Lipton on "Inside The Actor's Studio" that playing Karl was physically painful. His face had to be contorted and Thornton put broken glass in his shoes to get Karl's tortured walk down

Finally, Esquire in the UK posted the following article

Billy Bob Thornton Thornton took some extreme steps indeed for his role of a partially handicapped man in the sleeper hit Sling Blade. In an effort to maintain the consistency of his character’s memorable shuffle throughout filming Thornton placed real crushed glass inside his shoes, resulting in a painful limp. He was repaid with an Academy Award nomination for his pains. Unlike Lewis though he didn't get the gong - which must have been devastating.



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What does putting glass in your shoes do?

The actor explained that it's candy glass in his shoes. It turns to sand when pressure is applied to it, so his feet are fine. Stay tuned to Hidden Remote for more Moon Knight news and coverage. New episodes of the six episode series premiere Wednesdays on Disney+.

Why does he put glass in his shoes?

At face value, Arthur Harrow puts broken glass in his shoes as a form of self-sacrifice to the Egyptian god Ammit and a show of commitment to his cause to rid the world of sinners.

Did Billy Bob Thornton get an award for Sling Blade?

Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayIndependent Spirit Award for Best First FeatureEdgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay

Was the movie Sling Blade a true story?

While Sling Blade is not autobiographical, the story draws much from the people, places, and events of Thornton's youth.


Billy Bob Thornton doing Karl's impression from Sling Blade



Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Andrea Piacquadio, Pixabay, Daria Shevtsova, Loe Moshkovska

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