Billy Bob Thornton stars in Landman, the new show from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, and in a new interview, he shares what his working relationship with the high-powered writer-director was like during shooting.
Thornton had previously worked with Sheridan on 1883, in which he made a cameo appearance as Marshal Jim Courtright.
“I liked his style of directing,” Thornton tells Taste of Country, adding that he found working with Sheridan easy.
Sheridan wrote the part of Tommy Norris in Landman specifically for Thornton and pitched him on it at the 1883 premiere. Norris manages land and people for a huge oil company, sometimes resorting to tactics that are not entirely ethical or legal.
“When I read the first script, I was really pretty blown away, because he writes people, and the way people talk, and the crazy things they do,” Thornton says with a grin. “That’s one of the things I love about his stuff.”
Thornton acknowledges that it could have gone off the rails with two such strong personalities working closely together.
“He and are both writer-directors, and he is an actor, also, so you might think that there could be … it’s ground that is rich for conflict, he states, laughing heartily. “But I found it really easy working with him. I think we had a mutual respect.”
“He does a lot of things that I do when I’m directing,” Thornton continues. “I don’t really rehearse. I like to get fresh stuff off of people. And he likes to cast people sometimes that are just someone he met at the ice cream store,” he says with another laugh. “‘I think this guy would make a good lawyer,’ or whatever.”
“We had, actually, a really easy working relationship. I think we had a real understanding for each other,” Thornton adds.
“I wish I had more drama to talk about with him!” he quips, once again beginning to laugh. “But I don’t.”
Landman premieres with two episodes on Paramount+ on Sunday (Nov. 17).
Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan’s new show, Landman, is set to premiere in November, and Paramount has released a series of photos that portray a coming season rife with drama.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan doesn’t just write about life on the ranch — he lives it in real life, too. The powerhouse writer-director has just purchased a spectacular ranch in Wyoming for just under $5 million, and the property is absolutely stunning.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
The massive, historic Texas ranch where the upcoming Yellowstone spinoff Yellowstone: 6666 will shoot has sold for just under $200 million, and pictures show a property that is truly part of Texas history.
The 6666 Ranch — better-known as the Four Sixes Ranch — in Guthrie, Texas, dates back to 1870. The ranch centers around a 13-bedroom, 13-bathroom, 13,280-square-foot main residence, which is constructed of quarry rock that was hauled to Guthrie by wagon. The ranch also includes vast, sweeping fenced pastures, farmland, fenced-in pens for cattle, a more recent addition for horses, a water filtration plant that serves the ranch’s water needs and more.
There are separate camp manager’s homes in both the North Camp and the South Camp of the ranch, which encompasses nearly 225 square miles of land. Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan is part of a group of investors who recently acquired the property for $192 million, and he has been shooting his new show out there in recent months.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
See who passed on Yellowstone and how it ended up working out.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes