Landman is a drama series from creator Taylor Sheridan about the cut-throat world of oil and gas land acquisition in modern-day West Texas, based on the podcast, Boomtown. The show centers on Tommy Norris, a petroleum engineer at an oil company, as he deals with family and navigates the high-stakes world of the oil business. I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Billy Bob Thornton and new cast member Sam Elliot to discuss their experience working on this second season, let alone getting to work together again.
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Rick Hong/We Live Entertainment: Billy, so when you’re talking about Taylor Sheridan and the way that he writes and the dialogue, he kind of does it in your voice. I’m wondering, since you’re a really sweet guy outside of this, do you just hold all your venom, like when you’re angry at something, “I’m gonna wait till I go on set and deliver it,” and then that’s what we see?
Billy Bob Thornton: *laughs* I save it up, buddy. No, I mean, honestly, you know, as an actor, you have to be in that world and whatever that scene is, and I mean, look, nobody is the sweetest human being in the world. We all have, you know, our warts and, I’ve lived a long life and a very eclectic life, you know, so I’ve lived through different, I mean, when you look back, it’s almost like I’ve had about eight or 10 other lives. So there’s plenty to draw on. And, it’s so much easier to be nice to people than it is not to be, I mean, there’s no reason to be nasty to people, you know? And so that’s my philosophy in my real life. But when I’m doing a job, if I gotta go chew somebody’s ass out, I gotta go chew their ass out.
RH: Sam, how was coming to this series? I know you said, “Hey, Taylor Sheridan is what prompted me to do this.” So I’m thinking the same thing, because I remember 1883, you know, in that series, your character is riding horses, doing everything probably out in the hot sun, and then in contrast, in Landman, your character, he’s sitting in a chair, he’s chilling. He’s looking at the sunset. So I’m thinking, “Great man, I’m getting a little bit older, maybe the bones are a little more creaky.”
Sam Elliot: Yeah. It’s probably typecasting at this point, you know, but it was just another opportunity to come and number one, work with Taylor, but number two, have an opportunity to really work with somebody that I’ve admired for my entire life or my entire movie life, and that’s Billy. I mean, it is just a gift to come and go to work and do this, you know? I wanted to be an actor since I was a little kid, right? Since I’m like nine years old, growing up in Sacramento, California. I’ve been watching Billy for, I don’t know how many years he’s been doing it, but almost as long as I’ve been doing it, if not more, ’cause he might have started younger than I did, but to have an opportunity to go to work and work with him every day, it is just truly a gift. And when it’s saying Taylor’s words, that just doubles the odds. It is really a wonderful experience.
RH: Billy, how about for you? Because I think you said you kind of came across Sam in ‘86, and that is like right after his movie, Mask. I think Mask was like ‘85 or something, and then you guys got to reunite on Tombstone for a little bit. I mean, obviously, your career is still coming up at that stage, right? And so now, to kind of, just like come back and reunite at this point, I can imagine it’s like, “Wow, this is crazy.”
Billy Bob Thornton: Well, yeah. When Sam and I first met, we met through a producer who used to have parties at his house, and we met that way first. And then we did Tombstone, and I don’t know if it was ‘86, might have been ‘88 or ‘89. It was somewhere in there. We did Tombstone in ‘91 or ‘92, and I don’t know for sure if the first time I ever met Sam, he even knew who the hell I was. I was just some little buck-tooth kid over at some party. But I’ve loved Sam from the moment I met him. He’s been an inspiration to me. He’s been a role model for me. And to be able to do this every day with him is a dream come true for me. I mean, when you want to be Sam Elliot, and then all of a sudden you get to sit in the scenes with him and everything.
RH: Well, gentlemen, I wanted to tell you, congratulations again, Sam, amazing, amazing career, Billy, I always love seeing you.
New Episodes of Landman Season 2 air Sundays on Paramount+.
