From Sling Blade to slingin’ oil deals, Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton is taking his renowned talents to the small screen — this time, for an awards-caliber turn that will leave you cheering for the seasoned veteran and often laughing out loud. Landman is Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan’s latest groundbreaking TV series, this time focusing on the West Texas oil biz. The man behind Yellowstone had supplied Thornton with a fun little role in its hit prequel series, 1883. And now, the Bad Santa and Fargo actor is leading Sheridan’s latest small-screen effort. MovieWeb recently spoke with Thornton during the Landman junket, leading up to its Nov. 17 release on Paramount+, to learn more about his collaboration process with Sheridan and how it all started.
“I had a good experience on 1883. I just did a cameo, had a couple of scenes, and he talked to me about Landman after, actually, at the premiere of 1883. And we sat down and talked it over,” Thornton told us. “He says, ‘I have this thing, Landman, I want to do it with you. I want to make this series based around you, and I want to use your voice.’ So he was happy that we had a chance to, you know, hang out some, where he could see kind of the vibe. And I was thrilled about it. I mean, especially when I read the first script, it was like, ‘OK, I get this. This fits.'”
Thornton continued, regarding his latest standout character, Tommy, a jaded liaison between the billionaire oil execs, local law enforcement, and lowly rig workers down in Texas:
“I try not to do things that, you know, I’m not right for. I think it’s a mistake sometimes you can make in the acting world. And I didn’t have to do an impression to do this…
It kind of fit like a glove, to tell you the truth. And I guess a lot of that had to do with, you know, Taylor actually writing it with me in mind
, you know? So I was thrilled about it and very proud of the work that everyone did on it.”
Billy Bob Thornton’s ‘Organic’ Profanity
And on the topic of Yellowstone, Thornton confirmed he’s simply been too busy — from rocking with his band to going straight into press overseas for Landman — to keep up with the latest buzzy season of the O.G. series. “I haven’t had a chance to see anything, and I couldn’t get the TV to work on the airplane going to London,” he told us with a laugh.
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Thornton did take time to share more about his unique Landman character. Tommy’s a guy who seems to have an endless inventory of snappy, foul-mouthed one-liners which he dishes at anyone who comes between him and his business dealings, with dialogue like a Western oil rig twist on his Bad Santa character. “Tommy’s [profane one-liners] are pretty organic, you know, to who he is,” said Thornton about his character’s memorable quotes, adding:
“He grew up in a kind of rough world, and it’s just kind of the way he talks. And what I love about it… I’m glad that Tommy has a sense of humor. I think if I just played this character completely as a, you know, sort of emotional, dramatic role all the time, I think that kind of takes the human away. And I was really happy that Taylor injected some humor into this.”
From MTV Entertainment, Landman will begin streaming on Paramount+ on November 17 with its first two episodes, followed by episodes each Sunday. You can watch it through the link below:
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