In a world of $20 million paychecks and bottom-line creative decisions, Billy Bob Thornton may be the last outlaw left in Hollywood. He’s made a career out of playing bad guys who make us laugh, from the eternally imitable psycho-killer Karl Childers in Sling Blade to the worst Santa Claus in history in Bad Santa. He’s also weathered the storm of celebrity tabloids, which had him wearing an amulet filled with Angelina Jolie’s blood (true) and living off a strict diet of orange food (false). And he’s lived out the fantasies of every man in America by bedding Halle Berry in Monster’s Ball, which has got to be the most frequently viewed non-pornographic DVD of all time.

In this exclusive interview, Thornton discusses his role in Richard Linklater’s Bad News Bears. Thornton plays Morris Buttermaker, a hard drinking, womanizing ex-baseball player who becomes the coach of a team of foul-mouthed Little Leaguers. The film is a remake of the 1976 hit starring Walter Matthau, and will be released on July 22.

What’s the difference between the new Bad News Bears and the original with Walter Matthau?

It’s still pretty racy. I think the only difference is that now kids see so many things and hear so many things that maybe it will not be quite as shocking to them. I think kids who watch South Park and things like that, it is sort of their sense of humor now.

What was it like working with a cast of kids?

I always have fun with kids. I’m a father myself. My boys are 10 and 11. We try to keep my kids out of the limelight. The other night we were at some friends’ house and the movie we were gonna watch was Paparazzi. They said, “Dad, watch this. You can’t let that happen!”

How would your character Karl Childers in Sling Blade review this movie?

I think he would say, “I reckon we did a pretty good job.”

What’s the message of Bad News Bears?

It’s not a movie that’s gonna change the world or anything. But the overall message is just like the original: Maybe you’re not the fastest kid on the block and maybe your life is not so great, but if you just give it a little extra effort and believe in yourself then maybe you’ll find out you’re better than you think you are. Also, it addresses the age-old problem of Americans wanting to win at all costs, that competition is everything. It’s about how maybe you shouldn’t push your kids so hard. You should let them be who they want to be.

Is it cool when a movie like Bad Santa becomes popular with college kids?

It is actually kind of cool. I probably think more like a college audience than I do my own age group. My sense of humor is probably more like an 18- or 19-year-old than it is anything else. It is one of my favorite audiences, college audiences. Plus, I was one of the greatest college dropouts in history.

Are there similarities between the characters you play in Bad Santa and Bad News Bears?

Well, if you look at it, Morris Buttermaker is a guy who drinks and likes women. The guy in Bad Santa was a guy who drinks and likes women. So yes, they are similar characters. But show me a guy who does not like to drink and likes women and I will kiss your ass.

All of your characters seem to share some of the same eccentricities. Do you look for certain character traits in each role?

Generally, I choose roles where on the surface the character is maybe not as smart as everybody else, or it seems like something is wrong with him. But in the end, you find out they know a lot more than people think they do. Those kinds of characters have always fascinated me, sort of the downtrodden or put-upon characters who end up being the conscience of the story.

I’m a big fan of the Coen brothers’ The Man Who Wasn’t There. Do you plan to work with them again?

Out of every movie I’ve done, that is one of my very favorite movies. They’re my favorite filmmakers hands down. We are discussing something else. What we’d like to do is, they’d like to do Tarzan with me. We’ve been talking about this for about a decade.

Which do you like more, acting or directing?

I love writing and directing, but I love acting probably more. I don’t like the business of directing. The actual shooting is great. But dealing with the studio, having to cut out the last scene in the movie that made it make sense in the first place – it can take a year to three years out of your life. I was really spoiled by Sling Blade. I hope to get that kind of independence again.

Do you see yourself as part of the Hollywood community or outside it?

Definitely more outside it. I live in California, but I don’t go anywhere. I couldn’t tell you the names of any clubs to go to in L.A. I might as well live in Topeka, Kansas.

As a fellow bachelor, I want to ask you, how do you get all these world-class beautiful women?

How do I say this politely?

On the record, off the record – I just want to know.

I have always liked them for one thing. I think women sort of feel that. I think they just kind of know when you really appreciate that whole species. Also, I learned how to use my sexual apparatus at a very early age.