Billy Bob Thornton is reuniting with Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan for his new drama,Landman. Thornton is also a three-time Oscar nominee and one-time winner, best known for everything from his acclaimed turns inSling BladeandMonster’s Ballto the fan-favorite sports dramaFriday Night Lightsand thecult favorite Christmas dark comedyBad Santa. The star has also brought his talent to the small screen for a variety of projects, one including that of Sheridan’s firstYellowstoneprequel,1883, making a guest appearance as Marshal Jim Courtright.
Thornton stars inLandmanas Tommy Norris, a crisis executive for an oil rig company who finds himself in the midst of multiple troublesome situations. A drug transporting plane is destroyed by an oil truck after landing in the middle of a highway, Tommy’s son is beginning the dangerous work of an oil crewman, and a rig is destroyed in an accident, putting Tommy under the crosshairs of a sharp young lawyer. With his teenage daughter also wanting to move in with him, and his ex-wife contemplating a rekindling of their marriage, Tommy must determine where his priorities in life lie.
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Alongside Thornton, the ensembleLandmancast includesHeroesvet Ali Larter,1923’s Michelle Randolph,Maze Runnerfranchise alum Jacob Lofland, frequent Sheridan collaborator James Jordan,Nashville’s Mark Collie,The Substance’s Demi Moore,Top Gun: Maverick’s Jon Hamm,The Umbrella Academy’s Colm Feore, Paulina Chávez and Kayla Wallace. Pairing Sheridan with Christian Wallace to adapt his podcastBoomtown, the show proves to be a gripping and fresh twist on the former’s tried and true formula from hisYellowstonefranchise.
Ahead of the show’s premiere,Screen Rantinterviewed Billy Bob Thornton to discussLandman, how Sheridan wrote the part of Tommy in the Oscar winner’s voice after they worked together on1883, getting to learn more about the oil industry through his work on the show, and the one major similarity it shares with Sheridan’sYellowstone.
Thornton Always Enjoys “When Someone Writers Specifically For You”
The Oscar Winner Also Loved Getting To Explore “A World We Don’t Get To Really Look Into Much”
Screen Rant: I’m so thrilled to talk aboutLandmanwith you. I’ve watched the first five episodes, and I’m just hooked. It is gripping, it is funny as hell, I just love everything about it. What about this show drew you to it? Was it the characters, was it the writing?
Billy Bob Thornton: Well, you know, all of the above, really. I had done this cameo for Taylor in 1883, and then he talked to me about this, actually, at the premiere of 1883, and he told me the world it’s in, what the character was, and essentially told me that he was writing it in my voice. So, that’s always good when someone writes specifically for you. So, I was thrilled about it, because it’s a world we don’t get to really look into much. In some ways, it reminded me of the movie Giant, which is one of my favorites, although this is the even stranger, more dangerous Giant. But I just loved the character, and I don’t do a lot of movies where I’m wearing a cowboy hat.
I knew some about the oil business before, but some of the technical stuff I didn’t know, so I was very interested in all that kind of stuff. I had Taylor and Christian Wallace there to ask if I needed to know what something meant, because you’ve got to know what you mean before you say it, or it’s not an honest performance. I learned a lot about the inner workings of the oil business, the good and the bad, and the people that you have to deal with, and the landman’s in the middle of all of it. I mean, I’m responsible for making money for the boss, responsible for protecting the crews, and also making sure they do their job.
I got a family circling around me that’s kind of coming back a little stronger than before, so it’s just a multi-faceted character. You always want to play characters who have a little bit of everything, because in real life, we all have that. We all have joy and sadness and pain and fun and humor, and I’m really glad that this mixes it all up into this character.
Sheridan’s Skill for Writing Grounded Characters Is The Main Connection ToYellowstoneFor Thornton
“…[he] has a handle on human behavior…”
So, in having come fromtheYellowstoneuniverse, this does feel like it could be a good sort of parallel toYellowstone. What do you think about people who might compare the two shows ahead of time?
Billy Bob Thornton: Well, I think one thing that’s similar would be that it’s about the people, and the sort of inside workings of what’s going on with them all. I can’t stress enough that this is not just a show saying, “Hey, look, this is the oil business.” It’s about people and what we do in life, whether good or bad. I think Taylor has a handle on human behavior, and I think, in that way, they’re similar.
AboutLandman
Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern-day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs. Based on the notable 11-part podcast “Boomtown,” the series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.
Landman
Cast
Set in West Texas, this series explores the world of oil rigs and the fortunes they create. It portrays a modern upstairs/downstairs narrative of roughnecks and billionaires, highlighting the profound impact on the climate, economy, and geopolitics in these boomtowns.
