The Big Picture

Collider’s Steve Weintraub talks with
Landman
star Billy Bob Thornton ahead of the show’s Paramount+ premiere.
Taylor Sheridan’s
Landman
takes place in the lucrative West Texas oil business in a town where everyone’s looking to strike gold.
During this interview, Thornton discusses how the show sheds light on surprising aspects of the oil industry, working with Sheridan, and how the series reflects real life.

Whether he’s playing the head of NASA during an asteroid emergency, a noir-style barber who desires to be a dry cleaner, or the most disgustingly drunk mall Santa ever put on film, Billy Bob Thorntonalways puts on a great show. For the past few years, he’s been leaving a powerful mark on television, turning in award-worthy performances for both Fargo and Goliath. Now, he teams up with television Western maestro Taylor Sheridan for Landman, premiering only on Paramount+.

Inspired by Christian Wallace’s experience in the world of near-lawless oil rigs, formally expressed in the popular podcast Boomtown, Landman takes place in West Texas where roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fuel a boom so enormous it reshapes our climate, economy, and geopolitics. Thornton leads the cast as Tommy Norris, with Ali Larter as his chemistry-laden ex-wife Angela Norris. Landman also stars Demi Moore and Jon Hamm.

In this interview, Thornton sits down with Collider’s own Steve Weintraub to talk about Landman, where they discuss filming scenes in the snow at 60 below, how the script’s mixture of humor and extreme drama is a true reflection of humanity, and which movie from 1956 the series most resembles.

After 26 Years, This Is Still Billy Bob Thornton’s Toughest Shoot
image via Paramount Pictures

COLLIDER: You’ve done a lot of work in your career. What shot or sequence do you think has been the toughest as an actor or as a director to pull off in your career?

BILLY BOB THORNTON: There was a scene in a movie called A Simple Plan. It was me, Bill Paxton, and Chelsea Ross, who was a sheriff, and my dog Bart. But the windchill that night in Upper Wisconsin was 60 below zero. There was hardly any way to stay still. We’re shivering every minute. They had tents with those old space heaters that kind of looked like a rocket and shot fire out on them, and even that didn’t warm you up. If you got close enough to feel the heat, it would catch your clothes on fire. I didn’t know how we were gonna get through that. I mean, to actually say dialogue, and be real, and try to ignore that kind of cold — that was probably the hardest thing I ever did in my life. I remember some critics saying it was such an interesting choice that I chose to move my legs back and forth. It’s like, that wasn’t a choice, man. [Laughs]

I think a lot of people don’t realize what it’s actually like making a movie or a television show, and I love hearing stories like that because it reminds people it’s not all glamour when you’re standing there freezing.

THORNTON: It’s true. No, it’s absolutely true. Sometimes, you’re in danger. Sometimes, elements are really horrible. You can always tell how unglamorous the movie business is when people come to visit you and they leave going, “These are movie stars; are you kidding me? That looks like they’re working at a sawmill.” But one way or the other, we’re still very lucky people. I feel fortunate every day that I’ve been able to have the career I’ve had, and I appreciate every minute of it.

Sir, I completely agree. I won the lottery getting to talk to you and talk to people for a living.

Billy Bob Thornton Compares ‘Landman’ to This James Dean Epic

Getting into why I get to talk to you, the best compliment I can give you is: if I had the other five I would continue watching.

THORNTON: That’s a good compliment.

When you were offered this material, how much did Taylor and Christian give you the arc of three seasons and say, “This is what we’re looking to do?” How much are you like, “I just trust Taylor. This guy knows what he’s doing?”

THORNTON: I just trusted Taylor because we did not know the arc of three seasons or four or whatever. All I know is the first season. I hear bits and pieces through the grapevine about what the next season could possibly be. I know a few things, but these only came up after we finished the first season. From the beginning, I didn’t know. But Taylor asked me to do this when I went and did a cameo for him in 1883. He said, “I’m writing a show for you. It’s called Landman.” He told me what it was about, and I said, “Wow, that’s interesting. We’ve not seen that world.” I think the closest we’ve gotten over the years is probably the film Giant. Not that they’re exactly alike, but there are elements of Giant that are similar to this.

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You have obviously directed a number of things. Did you have any temptation to direct in Season 1? Will you in Season 2?

THORNTON: I didn’t in Season 1. I was just trying to keep my head above water playing this character. The people they have directing, they’re entirely capable. I don’t know I need the load on me of directing it and being in it.

No, totally. One of the things about Tommy Norris, your character, is that he can be deadly serious and deliver these great lines of dialogue. Then, other times, he’s dealing with his wife and daughter, and you see that other side. How much fun did you actually have playing this character?

THORNTON: So much. You have no idea. Essentially, if I were a landman, that’s how I would be. I don’t know that I’m capable of doing a role that’s completely over-earnest the whole way, completely dramatic, or completely comedic because real life has everything. Every day of our lives is full of comedy, dark humor, drama, joy, pain, everything. That was one of the greatest things about being able to play this part, that sometimes I’m funny because that’s the way people are. Sometimes critics will say if you mix humor with extreme drama, they say it couldn’t make its mind up what it was. That would be saying that life can’t make its own mind up what it is, because we do have all these elements every day.

There’s A lot To Learn About The Oil Industry From ‘Landman’
Image via Paramount+

I did not know that much about the oil industry. I thought I knew some stuff, then I watched the show, and it pulled the curtain back in terms of the things that go on. I’m assuming you did research before stepping on set. What were some of the things that really surprised you to learn about the oil industry?

THORNTON: I have a couple of friends whose fathers were landmen, and I talked to them a little bit, but I didn’t really do a lot of research beforehand. I tend to want to talk to the technical people and say, “What does this mean?” Because if you don’t know what it means, you can’t deliver a line properly. You can’t make the audience believe you unless you know what it is you’re saying. I had Christian Wallace there on the set all the time, so if there was a line, and I wasn’t sure what that meant, like a technical term in the oil business or something, I’d ask Christian.

But I tend not to do a whole hell of a lot of research on stuff. If I already kind of know, especially. I’ve known people in the oil business and even people who worked out there. One of the things that surprised me was how many people are fresh out of jail. You got ex-cons, you got felons, you have people like this who can’t make $180,000 in another business. The whole “bad guy” people who share the land. I wasn’t really aware of that part, and I think that plays heavily into this. Actually, it’s a big thing in the show, and I didn’t know a lot about that.

Landman is available to stream on Paramount+.

A modern-day tale of fortune seeking in the world of West Texas oil rigs.Seasons 1 Where To Watch Paramount+

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