“I’ve been famous for like 35 years or whatever, but it’s gone to another level,” Billy Bob Thornton says of ‘Landman’ success.
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, Texas − Taylor Sheridan’s Big Oil drama “Landman” is so big even its fake cafe, The Patch, is a star.
On a sweltering July day, a steady stream of fans travels to the outskirts of Fort Worth to point iPhones across the highway at the TV greasy spoon frequented by oil industry fixer Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton). Despite the neon “Open” sign in the window, The Patch is a closed building fully decked out with a bar and tables − one occupied by Thornton, 70, the true series star.
“The very first scene we shot was right in this room. This is an old tire store with great production design,” says Thornton, wearing a sleeveless black T-shirt, jeans and immaculate brown suede boots. “Now it’s crazy because we get actual tourists and people coming who think it’s a real cafe. It’s like you’re a part of a place’s history.”
“Landman” Season 2 arrives on Paramount+ Nov. 16, about a year after its premiere episode laid claim to TV history with a Paramount+ record of 35 million global streaming viewers.
Riding Sheridan’s pedigree and Thornton’s swagger, along with stars like Jon Hamm and Demi Moore, “Landman” made the biggest boom in the Sheridan-verse since “Yellowstone,” which ended in 2024.
Season 1 of the pulpy drama continued surging as Tommy battled oil rig explosions, industry rivals and drug cartels, remarried his ex-wife, Angela (Ali Larter), and dealt with his unfiltered high school daughter, Ainsley (“1923” star Michelle Randolph).
Jacob Lofland, who plays Tommy’s son Cooper, felt the show’s impact in the most “Landman” way when the actor was mobbed while Christmas shopping at Bass Pro Shop after the show’s premiere. “I went in to buy one thing, and it took two hours to get out,” Lofland says. “Like, wow, that’s never happened.”
“Landman” is critically well-received (78% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and has even more passionate diehard fans. “The Ringer” podcast host Bill Simmons ranks it as his third all-time favorite series and the “greatest show of this decade.” The American Association of Professional Landmen launched its own superfan podcast and credits the saggy-jeaned Thornton with his taciturn energy as “the most believable land boss ever.”
Thornton on ‘Landman’ success: ‘This is entering a different world’
Thornton has been a showbiz force of nature since his 1997 Oscar win for writing “Sling Blade” and his three-year, tabloid-fodder-filled marriage to “Pushing Tin” costar Angelina Jolie in 2000. On TV, he was Emmy-nominated for FX’s acclaimed “Fargo” Season 1 in 2014 and anchored four seasons of Amazon Prime Video’s “Goliath” (2016-21). But he’s feeling the heat from “Landman” like never before.
“My shows were popular, but this is entering a different world. This is kind of a phenomenon,” he says. “I’ve been famous for like 35 years or whatever, but it’s gone to another level. I didn’t know there’d be another level for me.”
In the Season 1 finale, M-Tex CEO Monty Miller (Hamm) died of heart failure. “Landman” Season 2 will get solid reinforcement, with “1883” star Sam Elliott joining as Tommy’s father, TL, and Andy Garcia returning as cartel boss Gallino after a surprise season finale appearance. Moore, underused as Monty’s trophy wife in Season 1, will step up in the drama as Cami Miller takes over M-Tex.
But the series will continue to center on Tommy, who is appointed M-Tex president for Season 2. Based very loosely on the West Texas oil industry podcast “Boomtown,” the series was written by Sheridan with Thornton in mind after a killer “1883” cameo.
“Taylor said, ‘I’m writing this show around you about the oil business, and I’m going to write in your voice,'” Thornton says. “It sounds like a joke, but it’s tailor-made for me.”
Tommy often goes on rants on topics ranging from breakfast food to wind power, and he never backs down from a verbal fight. The Patch bartender, Barney (K.C. Clyde), is a frequent sparring partner. “We get into it all the time,” Thornton says. “It’s a friendly rivalry.”
Tommy’s flamethrower putdowns are a Texas-sized part of the appeal.
“I was known for really throwing zingers in the press, especially in the old days, and I’ve never filtered myself,” Thornton says. “This comes naturally to me.”
He has mellowed since his zinger-throwing days. After his divorce from Jolie in 2003, he began a relationship with Connie Angland. She’s now his sixth wife, and they’ve been married 11 years.
“Finally, you get with a person who calms you down, who you know is your friend,” he says.
His schedule is still rolling at 70, with “Landman” production and unrelenting touring with the rock band he cofounded, The Boxmasters. With Thornton on lead vocals, the group opened two August shows for The Who during that seminal rock band’s final tour. “That was one of the honors of our lives,” he says. “And we’re still on the way up.”
Signed on to “Landman” for “four or five years,” Thornton says he wants to stay on the show “for as long as they’ll have me.” He just insisted on one character adjustment for Season 2: fixing those oversized jeans.
“The first season, my jeans were so baggy. And I’ve got birdlegs, so it looked like clown pants. I asked the costume department, ‘Can we bring them in a little this season?’ So this time they tailored them just a little bit more.”
