Billy Bob Thornton pledges support for ex-wife Angelina Jolie

ANGELINA Jolie’s ex-husband Billy Bob Thornton has pledged his support for her following her nasty split with Brad Pitt.

Billy Bob Thornton has pledged support for Angelina Jolie as her marriage to Brad Pitt crumbles. Picture: Getty

“IF ANGELINA needed me, I’d be there in a second,” ex-husband Billy Bob Thornton told news.com.au after her very public and acrimonious divorce from Brad Pitt.

“But I have to say, at this point it’s none of my business, but if it’s made my business then I would certainly comment on it, but I don’t have enough information. I hope for the best for her, absolutely. She’s a lovely person and a friend of mine. I hope the best for all of them, I really do.”

They were only married for three years, but have remained friends since their divorce. Picture: AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian

Thornton, six times married, was husband to fifth wife Jolie from 2000 to 2003.

He confided in a recent GQ article that he never felt good enough for her.

“It’s true. She’s known as this beautiful, smart, worldly person, and, to a degree, I always wondered what the hell she was doing with me. She didn’t treat me that way; I put that on myself,” he says candidly.

“Having grown up poor, I’m very uncomfortable around rich people, I always have been. If I go to a fancy dinner party at some really rich person’s house and they’ve got butlers and maids, I get creeped out,” he laughs. “I always go out and smoke. I do, I really do.

“When actors who have a lot of money and big houses have gatherings, they assume that I am like they are, and I am really not. And I have been at things before with the most famous people and politicians and all kinds of people, and I feel so out of place. I don’t mind feeling out of place but I’m incredibly insecure, though I have to say I would rather feel out of place than sit around and talk about what ski resorts I like.”

Thornton, 61, is in LA to promote Bad Santa 2, following the original 2003 hit comedy.

“I think the humour is maybe raunchier than the first one, not that in the first one we held back.”

Billy Bob Thornton in a scene from film Bad Santa.

A father of five children by three women, with ages ranging from 12 to 32, he says of Christmas coming up: “I am the opposite of the guy in the movie. We have a very traditional Christmas, it’s like my favourite time of year and I love it, and it’s a great family time and we have traditional food, nothing weird. We don’t even drink alcohol at our Christmas because our family doesn’t drink. I can’t drink much anymore. I have one or two light beers, and I feel like I have a sinus headache. It’s a shame.”

Far from his former wild, blood-guzzling days with Jolie (and with whom he apparently never wasted a limo ride) these days he leads a more subdued life with wife, makeup artist Connie Angland, who he met in 2003, and their 12-year-old daughter, Bella.

“I spend my off-hours watching Equestrian Girls and My Little Pony with her. She wants to be a writer,” he smiles proudly. “She gave the title to the new album my band has coming out next year. She’s a real special human being and I want to make sure she knows that.”

Painfully aware of his self-described ‘hillbilly’ upbringing in Arkansas, he says: “I want my kids to know that their place in life, whether it’s their looks or social standing, has nothing to do with who they are. So while I am pathetically insecure, I try to act like I am not to instil that [principle] in them.”

While the US is reeling from an unlikely political outcome, Thornton says, “I have very strong opinions but I’ve learned over the last few years not to say anything publicly, pro or con. But I will say that I think Hollywood can really help people running for prime ministers, presidents, and senators, and it’s not by going out there and having rallies or singing a song; [instead], I think they should be giving these politicians some acting lessons,” he says.

“There could be some manners taught to people that might help them out a little bit on all sides; besides, frankly, I’ve never seen people be that unappealing all in one election.”

But it seems for Thornton, Elvis Presley is his guide when it comes to espousing his political views in the press. “When they asked Elvis about the Vietnam War, he’d say, ‘To tell you the truth, sir, I am just an entertainer.’. And for me, that pretty much sums it up.”