The actor discussed his dietary limitations and health in a recent podcast appearance


Billy Bob Thornton on the 'Howie Mandel Does Stuff' podcast Credit: Howie Mandel Does Stuff/YouTube

Billy Bob Thornton opened up about the rare condition he has that he believes contributes to digestive issues

Thornton, who now avoids several food groups due to his dietary restrictions, said that as a child he "just assumed everybody felt like s— after they ate"

The actor also talked about creative snack combinations that he enjoys as a result of the diet restrictions

Billy Bob Thornton is opening up about the rare health condition that limits his diet.

In the May 5 episode of Howie Mandel's podcast, Howie Mandel Does Stuff, the 70-year-old Landman actor discussed the rare reason for his restrictive diet after the comedian host, also 70, brought up a story about a snack their sons once shared.

Thornton explained that his diet is “very restricted” during the conversation with Mandel, and elaborated after the podcaster tilted his head and donned a curious expression.

“Well, I'm allergic to wheat, dairy. I have type AB-negative blood, which is the rarest type in the world. It's, like, less than 1% of the population of the world has it,” Thornton explained. (Per the Red Cross Blood Donation, less than 1% of the United States population has AB-negative blood, which makes it “the least common blood type among Americans.”)

The Bad Santa actor went on to explain that, at least for him, the rare blood type caused some stomach issues, on top of other unrelated dietary restrictions.

"It means you have less digestive enzymes. That's one of the things that goes along with it,” he said of his blood type. (No studies have shown a clear link between eating according to your blood type and better health, though Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo of the “Blood Type Diet” fame believes that people with type AB blood “tend to have low stomach acid,” per WebMD.)

Thornton, who lived in Arkansas and Texas as a child, said that additionally, he “grew up with a lot of allergies but “ate everything.”

“I just assumed everybody felt like s— after they ate. I didn't know,” he said of his childhood health woes. “But anyway, I can't have dairy, wheat… can't eat meat, like, you know, pork or beef or any of that stuff.”

“You've just listed the entire pyramid,” Mandel then joked, and asked what Thornton is able to eat given the limitations of his health conditions.

The Sling Blade actor then revealed that before arriving to film the Howie Mandel Does Stuff episode, he had eaten a “bowl of blueberries” and drank a decaf coffee. “But when I get home, it's, like, wide open,” he explained of his eating habits.

“I'm going to have some gluten-free chips with some dairy-free cream cheese,” Thornton said. “So, I'm really looking forward to that.”

Thornton first learned of his rare blood type in the late ‘80s, which prompted him to eliminate wheat, dairy, red meat and more from his diet, according to Mashed. And in 2020, he summed his diet up on the Mental Amanda podcast, stating, "I call myself a vegan who cheats — but I don't cheat that bad.”

The topic of diet arose after Mandel recalled a peculiar snack that Mandel's son Alex, who is friends with Thornton's son William, had while visiting the Bandits star's house: “Bagels, cream cheese and ketchup.”

Thornton owned the dish, stating, “That's a hillbilly bagel,” as Alex, who was on the set of the podcast recording, chimed in to say, “Yeah. No, it was really good.”

The Landman star also revealed that he found another odd but enjoyable snack combination at a recent event for the Paramount+ series with one of his costars, Sam Elliott.

“We were at this place, and normally in these green rooms, they got a spread. You can usually find something,” Thornton recalled to Mandel. “And they had one little silver tray that was nothing but like salami and prosciutto and another tray full of crackers and stuff that I couldn't … all the starchy things were over here on this tray. But that's all they had. And I'm like, ‘Well, s—. I can't have any of this.' ”

“But in the middle of the cracker thing, they had some grapes,” he continued. “And I got a white grape. I'm like, ‘Okay, so I'll be bored as hell with this.' And then I saw some spicy Dijon mustard and I thought, ‘Now, I wonder.' ”

So, he dipped the grape in the mustard — and according to the actor, it was a treat. “It was one of the best things I ever had in my lifetime,” Thornton said. “So now it's become a thing for me.”

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