Golden Globes 2017: Billy Bob Thornton Explains Why He Thanked 'Goliath' PA Luke Scott

— -- During his Golden Globe acceptance speech for best actor in a TV drama, Billy Bob Thornton thanked late "Goliath" production assistant Luke Scott.

Backstage at the awards show, the actor told reporters that Scott was 23 years old when he died last year; no other information was available about his death.

Thornton said that Scott's joy for work was contagious and that, rather than thank everybody he'd ever met, he wanted to be more focused in his speech.

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Milo Ventimiglia attends the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 8, 2017 in Beverly Hills, Calif.

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"Luke made me want to come to work," Thornton said. "His face — it was such a joyous face, and he was so happy just to be there and have that job ... and to lose your life at 23 years old, when you're just starting something like that, I thought, I could thank people all night long ... but at the end of the day, the two entities that I had to thank are Luke Scott, this P.A. that made me so happy to be there, and Amazon, who was willing to do the show."

ABC News was unable to locate an obituary for Scott.

This is the second Golden Globe for Thornton and his sixth nomination.