3rd most-quoted character in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017): in 5 of its 19 quotes
Most scenes with: Mildred Hayes (4)
William 'Bill' Willoughby's lines
1 quote
William 'Bill' Willoughby [in a letter]
Dear Mildred, Dead Man Willoughby here. Firstly, I wanted to apologize for dyin' without catchin' your daughter's killer. It's a source of great pain to me and it would break my heart to think you thought I didn't care. 'Cause I did care. There are just some cases, where you never catch a break. Then 5 years down the line, some guy hears some other guy braggin' about it in a barroom or a jail cell. The whole thing is wrapped up through sheer stupidity. I hope that might be true for Angela, I really do. Second, I got to admit Mildred, the billboards were a great **** idea. They were like a chess move. And although they had absolutely nothing to do with my dyin'... I will assume almost everyone in town will assume that they did. Which is why, for Willoughby's counter-move, I decided to pay the next month's rent on 'em. I thought it'd be funny, you having to defend them a whooole 'nother month after they've stuck me in the ground. The joke is on you Mildred. Ha ha, and I hope they do not kill you. So good luck with all that, and good luck with everything else too. I hope and I pray that you get him.
Scenes with William 'Bill' Willoughby
4 scenes
What's the matter with you, saying that goddamn stuff on TV?... My momma watches that station.
She doesn't know about the torturing?
No. She's against that kinda thing.
Willoughby Who's against what?
My momma is against persons-of-color-torturing. She said ****-torturing. I said, You can't say ****-torturing no more. You gotta say persons-of-color-torturing. Isn't that right, Chief?
Willoughby I'd do anything to catch the guy who did it, Mrs. Hayes, but when the DNA don't match no one who's ever been arrested, and when the DNA don't match any other crime nationwide, and there wasn't a single eyewitness from the time she left your house to the time we found her, well... right now there ain't too much more we could do.
You could pull blood from every man and boy in this town over the age of 8.
Willoughby There's civil rights laws prevents that, Mrs. Hayes, and what if he was just passing through town?
Pull blood from every man in the country.
Willoughby And what if he was just passing through the country?
If it was me, I'd start up a database, every male baby was born, stick 'em on it, and as soon as he done something wrong, cross reference it, make 100% certain it was a correct match, then kill him.
Willoughby Yeah well, there's definitely civil rights laws that prevents that.
Geoffrey I just wanted to say, there's a lot of good friends of Bill Willoughby in this town, Ms. Hayes...
Geoffrey [Mildred grabs the dentist drill Geoffrey is holding and drills a hole into his right thumbnail]
Goddamn it!
Then why don't you tell those good friends of Bill Willoughby to tell him to go do his **** job, fat boy.
...
Willoughby Hey there Mildred! You didn't happen to pay a visit to the dentist today, did you?
[her mouth still numb]
No.
Willoughby Uh?
Willoughby Oh, so it wasn't you who drilled a little hole in one of big fat Geoffrey's big fat thumbnails, no?
Willoughby Huh?
Denise You drilled a hole in the dentist?
Willoughby Well, I thought it was kind of funny myself, but he wants to press charges, so we're gonna have to bring you in, I'm afraid.
Willoughby [in a letter]
Jason, Willoughby here. I'm dead now, sorry about that. There's something I wanted to say to you that I never really said when I was alive. I think you've got the makings of being a really good cop, Jason, and you know why? Because, deep down, you're a decent man. I know you don't think I think that, but I do, dipshit. I do think you're too angry though, and I know it's all since your dad died and you had to go look after your mom and all, but as long as you hold on to so much hate, then I don't think you're ever going to become, what I know you want to become - a detective. 'Cause you know what you need to become a detective? And I know you're gonna wince when I say this, but what you need to become a detective is love.
Willoughby [Mildred starts throwing Molatov cocktails at the police station, unaware that Dixon is inside it reading Willoughby's letter]
Because through love comes calm, and through calm comes thought. And you need thought to detect stuff sometimes, Jason. It's kinda all you need. You don't even need a gun. And you definitely don't need hate. Hate never solved nothing, but calm did. And thought did. Try it. Try it just for a change. No one'll think you're gay. And if they do, arrest 'em for homophobia! Won't they be surprised! Good luck to you, Jason. You're a decent man, and yeah you've had a run of bad luck, but things are gonna change for you. I can feel it.
Other characters in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
