Goliath: Billy Bob down but not out

Billy Bob Thornton is one of those actors who seems to have been around forever.

I can’t remember when I first noticed him, but it was probably in the 1999 film A simple Plan for which he won an Oscar.

It was in the 2014 series Fargo, however that he really caught my attention.

Since then, if I see that he’s in something — I’m there.

In Goliath Thornton plays “down-and-out” lawyer Billy McBride, a man who has seemingly lost everything, including his self respect.

Billy had it it all. Married with a daughter, he was a brilliant lawyer and co-founder of the successful law firm Cooperman and McBride.

Then it all falls apart after a murder suspect that he gets off on a technicality turns around and kills an entire family.

Haunted by guilt, Billy quits his job, walks away from the firm he started and hits the bottle — hard.

We find him divorced, unwashed, living in a cheap, extended-stay hotel near Santa Monica Pier driving a beaten up Mustang and basically struggling to make ends meet.

Billy couldn’t give a rats about anything anymore, let alone his own health as he seeks the oblivion offered by drink.

Then a talented but underachieving DUI lawyer, Patty Solis-Papagian, approaches him to defend her neighbour on a small case involving Borns Technology — one of Cooperman McBride’s biggest clients.

Rachel Kennedy’s brother Ryan Larson is alleged to have committed suicide by blowing up a boat that belonged to his employer Borns Tech.

But Rachel does not believe this story and wants to sue them for wrongful death.

Reluctantly, Billy agrees to take the case and visits Ryan’s widow Gina and son Jason, but Gina doesn’t want to know about it.

In fact, after he leaves, she calls Cooperman McBride.

Later Billy finds two fishermen who witnessed the explosion that killed Ryan.

Anticipating that Billy will file a wrongful death lawsuit, Cooperman asks Billy’s ex Michelle to start drafting a response.

As the case gathers momentum, Billy asks Brittany Gold, a friend and prostitute, to work as his legal assistant.

When Billy files the lawsuit, Cooperman insists that Callie argue for the dismissal of the case in court, once again overriding Michelle’s objections regarding his choice.

While driving Denise back to her mother’s house, Billy is pulled over and assaulted by a cop, later coming to in lockup.

Throughout the series Billy is stalked by a man in black.

Goliath which first aired in 2016 runs to four seasons and 32 episodes.

It’s a slow burn but well worth the wait.

The cast also includes: