Billy Bob Thornton connects ‘1883’ cameo to ‘Landman’ role
Billy Bob Thornton shares how his “1883” cameo as Marshall Jim Courtright led to his role in “Landman.”
FORT WORTH, TX – Rest assured, Ali Larter will be back in peak Angela Norris form when “Landman” Season 2 premieres on Paramount+ Nov. 16.
But that doesn’t mean the reemergent star of NBC’s mid-aughts sci-fi hit “Heroes” walks the Angela walk in her own life, especially in those daunting heels.
Speaking to USA TODAY between scenes in the Texas-set green room during the last week of “Landman” filming in July, Larter, 49, proudly reveals her simple black flats.
“And I just bought four more pairs of flats,” Larter says, laughing. “Soon I won’t be wearing any heels. I’m done. I’m not putting on a tight-anything. It’ll be summer dresses, sweat pants, and my hair in a bun. And most times on set, you’ll see me in a big hoodie.”
That’s not Angela, the reunited partner of M-Tex Oil President Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) and partner-in-crime to daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph), who wears her emotions on the sleeve of every outlandish designer outfit – invariably matched with 5-inch heels.
“I love getting to be glamorous and fun, with the spray tans, the nails, the hair, and the jewelry,” Larter says. “Angela is an unabashedly more-is-more woman. It’s just not who I am. It takes hours of preparation to get there. But when I walk into those scenes, I feel like her.”
Larter’s Angela Norris is ‘a force of nature’
Larter credits her character’s DNA to executive producer Taylor Sheridan, who envisioned Angela as “this emotional roller coaster” from the very start of discussions. The New Jersey-born model-turned-actress adopted the Texas accent and embodies the character full-tilt.
“Angela is a force of nature,” she says. “She feels things 110%. That is her authentic self.”
A confessed “coupon-clipping Jersey girl,” Larter can’t abide by her character’s extravagant credit-card lifestyle. Nor can she allow Angela’s full emotions to seep into real life at her family’s home in Sun Valley, Idaho – where she lives with her husband of 16 years, actor Hayes MacArthur, and their two children, son Theodore, 14, and daughter Vivienne, 10.
“I don’t have that indulgence, because I have two young kids in my life,” Larter says. “This morning, I had a Zoom call with my daughter, who’s crying because she misses me, and I’m crying because I miss her. But I have to go put on the Angela suit.”
While she’s 1500 miles away from her real kids, Larter is, by all accounts, the set mother. She fixes Thornton’s sagging blue jeans in between scenes and is so close to her screen daughter, Randolph, that the duo moved into the same Fort Worth apartment building during filming.
Shooting around where the Big Oil story plays out is “a dream. I love to sit at the dog park or restaurants and watch people, see the clothes, and listen to the accents,” she says.
While Angela might seem out there to some, Larter confirms that many real-life versions roam the Dallas area.
“Oh my God, there are a lot of Angelas in Dallas. Go out to B&B’s steakhouse on a Saturday night, and 100 percent you’ll get some Angelas,” Larter says.
She feels the love and the “Landman” popularity firsthand when fans approach her around town or on the plane back home to Idaho.
“Women come up to me and want their inner Angela, too. She breaks all the rules and isn’t worried about people’s judgment,” Larter says. “She’s empowering. I just love her.”
Taylor Sheridan ‘loves to shock’ viewers in ‘Landman’
Not everyone shares the Angela-love. While “Landman” is a critical hit (78% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes for Season 1), it has its detractors. The outrageous character is a particular lightning rod for controversy; in one of Season 1’s most talked-about scenes, Angela took a group of senior citizens, along with her daughter Ainsley and her jock boyfriend Ryder, to a strip club.
Series writer (and “Yellowstone” mastermind) Sheridan “loves to shock you” to elicit a reaction, Larter says.
“He really doesn’t care what other people think; he’s just inspired by what these characters will do,” she adds. “If you don’t like it, turn the channel, darling. Because a lot of people do like it.”
What happens in Season 2 of ‘Landman’?
In Season 2, there will be more drama as Ainsley preps for college and the combustible Norrises attempt another family dinner. This one ends with Angela throwing the plates at Tommy. “It’s a real banger of a dinner that ends in complete mayhem,” Larter says.
The duo makes amends. Tommy and Angela are “a little crass,” but they’re a watchable, oddly loving TV couple.
“They fight and drop the F-bombs at each other,” Larter says. “But they love each other desperately. It’s like they’re two wrongs that somehow make a right.”
