( CNN ) -- Do not call Billy Bob Thornton an actor when you are interviewing him about his music . Billy Bob Thornton 's interview on a Canadian radio show is garnering lots of attention . A Canadian radio host learned that lesson when Thornton and his electric hillbilly band -- the Boxmasters -- visited his Toronto , Ontario , studio Wednesday morning . When Jian Ghomeshi introduced the trio on his CBC show , he noted that its singer-songwriter-drummer was also an `` Oscar-winning screenwriter-actor-director . '' Thornton 's publicist , Arnold Robinson , disputes suggestions that what followed was a breakdown by the actor -- hmmm , musician . He `` simply elected not to engage with the interviewer because of the direction of the interview from the outset , '' Robinson told CNN . Thornton took the reference to his movie career as an insult to his musical endeavor . The radio interview , which also was recorded on video , may leave the audience wondering whether this was a controlled performance by Thornton or a public breakdown that revealed true anger over a perceived insult of his music . Watch the interview with the actor-musician head south » . In their first exchange , Thornton stonewalled his questioner : . Ghomeshi : Billy Bob , you guys formed only in the last couple years , right ? Thornton : I do n't know what you 're talking about . Ghomeshi : How so ? Thornton : I do n't know what you mean by that . Ghomeshi : When did the band form ? Thornton : I 'm not sure what that means . Guitarist J.D . Andrew briefly rescued Ghomeshi by confirming the group came together two years ago . The Boxmasters are on tour opening for Willie Nelson , which prompted Ghomeshi 's next question directed at Thornton . Ghomeshi : What do you learn from Willie Nelson , Billy Bob ? Thornton : I 've never met him . Ghomeshi : ( laughing ) Are you being ironic , or are you being serious ? Thornton : I do n't really know him . Ghomeshi : You 've never met Willie Nelson ? Thornton : I said hello to him once . He 's a nice guy . Thornton 's band mates talked about how their music was a mix of Southern hillbilly influences and the 1960s British rock invasion . Ghomeshi tried to draw Thornton into the conversation again . Ghomeshi : And that was true for you , Billy Bob , growing up it was sort of a combo of Stones and Monkees and Buck Owens ? Thornton : I just liked baseball when I was a kid . Ghomeshi : And you almost became a professional baseball player , right ? Thornton : I do n't know . Maybe . Ghomeshi : But you did n't love music when you were a kid ? Thornton : I subscribed to a magazine called Famous Monsters in Filmland , which the publisher was a guy named Forrest J. Ackerman , who passed away recently . The interviewer then asked Thornton if he remembered what music he listened to as a kid , but he rambled on about a monster model contest the magazine sponsored . Thornton said he entered but did not win . The tension came to a head when Ghomeshi asked Thornton if his bizarre answers were a reaction to his brief reference to his movie career . Ghomeshi : You would prefer me to only do this interview not mentioning at all , just to clarify , at all that you 've ever done anything in terms of acting , screenwriting . Thornton : That 's correct . Ghomeshi : Part of the attention that you are getting is because of the great career you 've had in other ways . What I 'm explaining is I 'm not trying to be insulting to your musical . ... Thornton : What I 'm explaining is that we said do not talk about s**t like that . And we also said that we did n't want to hear anything about how this is my first love . You would n't say that to Tom Petty , would you ? `` I understand music is your first love . '' Well , my first love was a chick named Lisa Cone . You know what I mean ? The two men then declared a truce so they could finally talk about the music Thornton called `` cosmic cowboy music . '' No matter how good of a singer and drummer Thornton may be , his ability to create memorable characters is remarkable , as evidenced by his Oscar-nominated role of Karl , the mentally impaired convict in `` Sling Blade . '' We now have a new Billy Bob Thornton character -- the musician who wants you to forget he was ever an actor .
Billy Bob Thornton and Boxmasters band mates appear on Canadian radio show . Thornton stonewalls questions after host makes mention of his acting career . Actor 's reply after being asked when band formed : `` I 'm not sure what that means '' It 's difficult to discern whether Thornton was really mad or if he was `` acting ''