EXCLUSIVE: Landman has returned for season 2 and Billy Bob Thornton has opened up about some of the toughest scenes he had to shoot for the Paramount Plus show.
Billy Bob Thornton is back for Landman season 2 and the stakes already couldn’t be higher for Tommy Norris as he attempts to helm M-Tex Oil.
Created by Yellowstone’s Taylor Sheridan, Landman sees Thornton star as a crisis manager or ‘fixer’ for an oil company in West Texas.
The synopsis for the Paramount Plus series reads: “Set in the boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern tale of fortune seeking amongst roughnecks and wildcat billionaires – fueling an oil boom so big it’s reshaping the climate, the economy and geopolitics.”
As well as delving into the complexities of the oil industry, Landman captures the dangers of working on an oil rig, depicting accidental explosions, cartel violence and even workers getting crushed under heavy equipment.
In an exclusive interview, Thornton broke down which scenes he found most challenging to film.
Billy Bob Thornton has worked some dangerous jobs(Image: Paramount Plus)
“You know, I’ve always been pretty good at stunts,” he revealed: “External pain doesn’t really bother so much; it’s internal pain. So, yeah, we had to do a few things. In the first season, when I had to run by the oil fire for several takes…
“My respect for firemen is already very high; now it’s twice as high. You think you’re melting. You know, it’s dangerous just having dinner with Ali!” he quipped, referring to co-star Ali Larter who plays his ex-wife Angela Norris.
Working in intense conditions is not a foreign concept to Thornton, who worked several dangerous and physically demanding jobs when he was younger.
Asked about whether filming Landman had given him a new perspective on the people who work in the oil industry, he confirmed: “For sure. I mean, specifically the guys out in the field – yes it did.
“Although I grew up working a lot of dangerous jobs when I was a kid,” he revealed. “I worked in a saw mill and I worked in a machine shop and hauled heavy equipment.
Billy Bob Thornton has returned for Landman season 2(Image: Paramount Plus)
“I worked in some jobs that weren’t exactly the safest ones on earth, so maybe that’s why, when I saw the real oil guys out there…
“Some of them were actually operating these rigs during the scenes, and I think that’s why we would get along, because they knew my history back there of working in Texas and Arkansas.”
Meanwhile, Thornton also teased that we might see a new side to Tommy this season, as he said: “You’ll see all the colours this season. Every one of them.”
The Paramount Plus synopsis for Landman season 2 reads: “In Season Two, as oil rises from the earth, so do secrets – and Tommy Norris’s (Thornton) breaking point may be closer than he realizes.
“Facing mounting pressure from M-Tex Oil, Cami Miller (Moore), and the shadow of his kin, survival in West Texas isn’t noble – it’s brutal. And sooner or later something’s got to break.”
Landman season 2 airs weekly on Sundays on Paramount Plus.
