Actor and musician Billy Bob Thornton has been open about his Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder diagnosis, and recently, he candidly shared how the condition intensely affected him prior to now by sharing an amusingly gross anecdote. The actor also discussed his overall mental health journey and restrictive food plan, sharing his newfound love for grapes, oddly paired with a condiment.
In an episode of the podcast “Howie Mandel Does Stuff,” 70-year-old Billy Bob Thornton opened up about his mental health, particularly his Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which host Howie Mandel can also be diagnosed with.
While speaking with Mandel and his co-host, daughter Jackelyn Shultz, Thornton remembered a moment from the late ’80s that highlighted his obsessive-compulsive thoughts. “You wanna hear a funny, but creepy, gross funny one?” he asked, before telling his story.
Thornton shared that he was available in the market pavilions in West Hollywood, waiting in line behind an older gentleman, who had a “leathery, wrinkly neck” with “200 blackheads.” There was a very large one which Thornton in comparison with a pin head. “You popped it?” Shultz asked, to which the actor replied, “No. It wasn’t that bad, but it surely’s close.”
Billy Bob Thornton Boinked A Stranger’s Blackhead
Thornton said that upon seeing that big blackhead, he had an obsessive thought that just wouldn’t go away, and he had to the touch it. “You’re saying you would like to touch it?” Mandel asked. Thornton explained that he didn’t need to touch it, but his obsessive-compulsive thoughts made him think he needed to do it.
He decided to make use of a magazine rack near him and the person as a ruse. Thornton said, “I went ‘boink’ after which reached to People magazine and got it.” When the person turned around, he apologized, saying that he was just reaching for a magazine. “So anyway, I got to the touch the blackhead and get out of it, you recognize.”
Mandel and Schultz roared with laughter, seemingly grossed out and amused at the identical time. “Did you say boink?” Schultz asked. “That’s hysterical,” Mandel added. “I got over that an extended time ago. I went to blackhead therapy,” Thornton joked.
The Actor Shares How ‘Exhausting’ OCD Is
Thornton shared his OCD diagnosis publicly in 2004 during an interview with Ann Curry. The actor talked about his physically and emotionally abusive father and said his upbringing might need triggered his OCD. “It exhausts you… You’re consistently doing mathematics in your head,” he told Curry. Thornton shared the identical sentiment within the podcast with Mandel, saying, “It’s so emotionally and mentally exhausting that that’s one among the things that individuals don’t really say much.”
His symptoms manifested at a young age, and he remembers counting down with the clock while waiting for his father to come back home. “I’d hear the automobile pull within the driveway around 4 o’clock normally, and I’d, in my head, I’d say if I can count to 100 five times before I hear the automobile are available in the driveway, the whole lot’s going to be okay,” he said.
Thornton shared that he does things just like that despite knowing that it’s “silly,” but he isn’t in a position to control the compulsion.
Howie Mandel Expressed Gratitute To The Actor
Mandel has been open about his own OCD diagnosis, but it surely wasn’t at all times that way. During an appearance on “The Howard Stern Show” in 1998, his diagnosis was unintentionally revealed. Mandel, who’s a germophobe and is widely known for not shaking hands, had an anxiety attack when he couldn’t get out of the studio, as he didn’t need to touch the doorknob.
Pondering it was a bit, the crew jokingly prevented him from leaving, which heightened his anxiety. He then told Stern that he sees a psychiatrist for OCD, and his panic attack was real, not knowing the show was still broadcasting live.
Through the podcast, Mandel revealed that Thornton reached out to him, telling him that that they had loads in common, referring to their OCD. “It was beautiful to be open with anyone about humanity and about struggling,” Mandel said. In a while within the interview, Thornton circled back, saying it was so rare to seek out someone within the business who didn’t speak about work or projects, they usually agreed it was therapeutic to speak about their shared condition.
Billy Bob Thornton’s Restrictive Weight-reduction plan And Odd Food Combos
Elsewhere within the interview, Thornton shared his aversion to certain foods on account of his allergies and rare blood type, which makes it difficult for him to digest. Mandel then shared how his son, Alex, who’s friends with Thornton’s son, William, once said Thornton served him bagels with cream cheese and ketchup when he was at their home. “That’s a hillbilly bagel,” Thornton said.
The actor also shared the brand new obsession that he discovered while in a dressing room waiting for an event to start. The food spread didn’t have anything he could eat, apart from grapes. He got a white grape, dipped it into spicy Dijon mustard, and ate it. “It was the most effective things I ever had in my lifetime,” Thornton said, adding that it’s change into his recent “thing.”