Landman’s Billy Bob Thornton on Authentic Characters in Oil Rig Drama & Reunion with Taylor Sheridan

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 performances Slingshot Blade and Monster Ball to the fan-favorite sports drama Friday night lights and favorite Christmas dark comedy Bad Santa. The star has also brought her talents to the small screen in a variety of projects, including Sheridan’s first film yellow stone prequel, 1883making a guest appearance as Marshal Jim Courtright.

Thornton star Landman as Tommy Norris, a crisis executive at an oil rig company who finds himself in the middle of several problematic situations. A drug transport plane is destroyed by an oil truck after landing in the middle of a highway, Tommy’s son is starting the dangerous job of an oil crew, and a rig is destroyed in an accident, putting Tommy under the gun. a shrewd young lawyer. . With his teenage daughter also wanting to live with him, and his ex-wife considering rekindling their marriage, Tommy must determine where his priorities lie in life.

Alongside Thornton, the group Landman cast includes Heroes veterinarian Ali Larter, 1923Michelle Randolph, Labyrinth Corridor Franchise alumnus Jacob Lofland, frequent Sheridan collaborator James Jordan, nashvilleMark Collie, The substanceDemi Moore, Top Gun: MaverickJon Hamm, The Umbrella AcademyColm Feore, Paulina Chávez and Kayla Wallace. Teaming Sheridan with Christian Wallace to adapt his podcast Growing citythe show proves to be an exciting and fresh twist on the tried-and-true formula of the first, from its yellow stone franchise.

Before the show’s premiere, Screen speech interviewed Billy Bob Thornton to discuss Landmanhow Sheridan wrote the Oscar winner’s voice role of Tommy after they worked together on 1883learning more about the petroleum industry through his work on the show and the close similarity it shares with Sheridan yellow stone.

Thornton always likes”When someone writes specifically to you”

The Oscar winner also loved exploring”A world we can’t analyze much”

Screen Rant: I’m very excited to talk about Landman like you. I watched the first five episodes and I’m simply hooked. It’s exciting, it’s funny as hell, I just love everything about it. What about this show attracted you? 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 it, actually, at the premiere of 1883, and he told me what world it was in, what the character was, and essentially told me that he was writing it. in my voice. So, it’s always nice when someone writes specifically for you. So I was moved by that, because it’s a world that we don’t get to look at much. In a way, it reminded me of the movie Giant, which is one of my favorites, although this is the even weirder and more dangerous Giant. But I just loved the character and I don’t do many movies where I wear a cowboy hat.

I knew a little bit about the oil business before, but some technical things I didn’t know, so I was very interested in all that kind of stuff. I invited Taylor and Christian Wallace to ask if I needed to know what something meant, because you need to know what you want to say before you say it, or it won’t be an honest performance. I learned a lot about the inner workings of the oil business, what’s good and what’s bad, and the people you have to deal with, and the landman is in the middle of it all. I mean, I’m responsible for making money for the boss, responsible for protecting the teams and also making sure they do their jobs.

I have a family running around me who are coming back a little stronger than before, so it’s just a multi-faceted character. You always want to play characters that have a little bit of everything, because in real life we ​​all do. We all have joy, sadness, pain, fun and humor, and I’m so happy that it mixes it all together in this character.

Sheridan’s ability to write grounded characters is the main connection to yellow stone To Thornton

“…[he] has control over human behavior…”

So, having come from yellow stone universe, it seems like it could be a good kind of parallel to yellow stone. What do you think of people being able to compare the two shows in advance?

Billy Bob Thornton: Well, I think a similar thing would be that it’s about people and the kind of inner workings of what’s going on with all of them. I can’t emphasize enough that this isn’t just a show that says, “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 mastered human behavior and I think in that respect they are similar.

On Landman

Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern story of seeking your fortune in the world of oil rigs. Based on the remarkable 11-part podcast “Boomtown,” the series is a top-down story of bullies and savage billionaires fueling a boom so massive it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.

Stay tuned for our others Landman interviews with:

• Ali Larter

• Kayla Wallace and Paulina Chavez

• Jacob Lofland, James Jordan and Mark Collie

Source: Screen Rant Plus