Billy Bob Thornton on ‘Landman's' overnight ‘international hit' status and how he's ‘afraid' to read reviews
In an interview with Gold Derby prior to an FYC screening at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood on Sunday, Thornton, who plays Texas oil landman Tommy Norris, talked about the show's overnight success.
More from GoldDerby
Mariah Carey, Jamie Foxx among honorees at 2025 BET Awards: Full winners list (updating live)
'Sly Stone was way ahead of the game': Questlove explains the 'genius' legacy of the late funk-rock master
Pickleball, punchlines, and personal growth: 'Hacks' stars Megan Stalter and Paul W. Downs on their bond and what's next
'It was pretty quick,' he said. We thought it was going to be big, but like, in Middle America. We didn't know it was going to be an international hit. We had no idea. So that's always a nice surprise,' he said of Paramount+ drama series, written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, the highly revered Hollywood heavyweight behind the Yellowstone franchise, known for his exceptional writing and roster of complex characters.
After Landman premiered in November, Thornton's team would keep him informed of how well it was performing, but Thornton said he would also hear 'a lot from my wife,' Connie Angland, whom he has been married to for a little over ten years.
'I'm afraid to [look],' he admitted. 'She'll look at it, and say, 'There's this article out,' I say, 'Please don't read it to me.' She'll go, 'It's all good.' I say, 'I still don't want to hear it.''
Thornton added, 'A lot of times, it's something that might sound good to somebody else, but you read between the lines and you go, 'I'm not sure. That might have been a kind of left-handed compliment.''
Variety
Demi Moore, Ali Larter, Jacob Lofland, and Andy Garcia, Thronton's costar on the streaming series, joined him for the panel (Jon Hamm and Michelle Randolph also headlined the first season). Discussing the star-studded cast, Thornton said that Sheridan 'was pretty good about letting me know who he was looking at for certain parts.'
Though Thornton said he didn't contribute to any of those casting decisions ('Taylor knew who he wanted'), he did help recruit his friend Mark Collie to play Sheriff Walt Joeberg.
And working with fellow 'veteran' actors Moore and Garcia only enhanced the experience. 'What a pleasure,' he said. 'We've known each other for years.'
Thornton said he's known Garcia 'socially' for decades, but this is their first time working together, and he and Moore shared some scenes together over 35 years ago (in Indecent Proposal), later joking during the Q&A that 'she didn't remember me.'
'It was a big scene in the casino,' Moore recalled, describing the set. 'Rolling dice, pool tables, drinking beer … just the things we're still doing,' she joked.
Back on the carpet, Garcia (who plays cartel boss Galino) told Gold Derby of Thornton's set feeling like family, 'Actors are like a gypsy troupe,' he explained. And Lofland, who plays Thornton's on-screen son, Cooper Norris, said that the Tennessee native sets a 'calm' tone down in Texas, which 'takes all the nerves out.'
Lofland added that the cast hangs out 'just as much off-screen as we do on.'
'We'll always get together and have a drink at the end, talk about the day, talk about what's coming up. So we really are like a family.'
Now around two months into filming the second season, with the addition of yet another big name, Sam Elliott, Thornton announced that Season 2 of Landman will be out in November, prompting cheers from the crowd at the 600-seat theatre.
'Looks like it's going to be a Scorpio!' he quipped.
Best of GoldDerby
Brandon Scott Jones on CBS' 'Ghosts': 'I enjoy playing characters that are desperate'
'She's got tunnel vision': Wendi McLendon-Covey reveals what she loves most about her character Joyce on 'St. Denis Medical'
Marlon Wayans on laughing through tragedy in 'Good Grief' and why social media has made comedy 'toxic'
Click here to read the full article.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Digital Trends
a day ago
- Digital Trends
Everything we know about the Yellowstone spinoffs
Since Yellowstone remains one of the most popular and acclaimed TV franchises in modern history, fans continue to see more and more spinoffs in development. After the franchise spawned historic period pieces like 1883 and 1923, Yellowstone will add more spinoffs set in past eras and follow more members of the Dutton family, as well as some new characters outside this ranching dynasty. While most details about these spinoffs remain hidden, here's everything that has been confirmed about every spinoff of Yellowstone. 1883 (2021-2022) 1883, the first spinoff in the Yellowstone franchise, features the long, sprawling origin story of the Dutton family. Specifically, it follows the generation of Duttons living after the Civil War, departing Tennessee and traveling to Texas and Oregon before they settle in Montana. Recommended Videos The Yellowstone prequel stars Sam Elliot, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Isabel May, LaMonica Garrett, Marc Rissmann, Audie Rick, Eric Nelsen, James Landry Hébert, and Noah Le Gros. The series ended in 2022 with James Dutton settling in Paradise Valley, Montana, where his descendants resided in Yellowstone. Stream 1883 on Paramount+. 1923 (2022-2025) As the sequel to 1883, 1923is a two-season prequel featuring members of the Dutton family in Montana during Prohibition and the early years of the Great Depression. The Duttons are led by Helen Mirren's Cara and Harrison Ford's Jacob. The family consists of Jacob's brother, Jack (Darren Mann); Cara and Jacob's son, Spencer (Brandon Sklenar); and the latter's wife, Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer). 1923 also featured the return of actor Isabel May, who played Elsa Dutton in 1883, as the show's narrator. The series ended in April 2025, with the finale showing Spencer taking control of the Dutton ranch while Jacob and Cara decide to raise Spencer and Alexandra's son, John. Stream 1923 on Paramount+. The Madison (TBA) Originally titled 2024, The Madison will center on the McIntosh family, who leave New York City to live in the Madison River Valley in Montana. The series stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Patrick J. Adams, Elle Chapman, Matthew Fox, Beau Garrett, Amiah Miller, Ben Schnetzer, Kevin Zegers, Rebecca Spence, Alaina Pollack, and Danielle Vasinova. Kurt Russell is also rumored to have a role in this series, but that has yet to be confirmed. Filming for The Madison reportedly began in late August 2024, with shooting taking place in Montana and Texas until production wrapped in December. Via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the logline for The Madison describes the new series as 'a heartfelt study of grief and human connection' following the McIntosh family. The Madison will stream on Paramount+. Y: Marshals (TBA) First announced in May 2025, Y: Marshals is a procedural series starring Yellowstone's Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton. In his last appearance during the Yellowstone series finale, Kayce signed away ownership of the Yellowstone ranch in exchange for a sliver of land where he could live with his wife and son. It's unclear if Kelsey Asbille and Brecken Merrill will return to play Kayce's wife, Monica, and his son, Tate, respectively. However, Logan Marshall-Green (The Odyssey) will play a lead role in the series. Spencer Hudnut will serve as the writer, executive producer, and showrunner of Y: Marshals, which will allegedly premiere in 2026. The show's logline, via Variety, reads: 'With the Yellowstone Ranch behind him, Dutton joins an elite unit of U.S. Marshals, combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana, where he and his teammates must balance family, duty, and the high psychological cost that comes with serving as the last line of defense in the region's war on violence.' Y: Marshals will air in 2026 on CBS. 6666 (TBA) This spinoff was first announced in February 2021. As the title implies, 6666 will be set at the Four Sixes Ranch, a real-life historic landmark in Texas, which appeared in Yellowstone season 4. This series will also take place between the fourth and fifth seasons of Yellowstone. The cast of 6666 is unknown, but it has been rumored that Ryan Bingham will return to his Yellowstone role as Walker. 6666 is slated to air on Paramount Network. 1944 (TBA) First announced in February 2023, this prequel series is said to be a sequel to 1923. While the synopsis for it is unknown, the title implies that it will follow a new generation of Duttons living in World War II-era America. As a result, it is possible that older versions of characters from 1923 could appear in the series. Since Spencer is shown to have died in 1969, the timeline gives the writers an opportunity to bring Brandon Sklenar's character back for this series. Filming for 1944 will reportedly take place in the Bitterroot Valley in southwest Montana, the primary shooting location for Yellowstone. When the series was first announced, Chris McCarthy, President and CEO of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios, said that 1944 'will take audiences on a thrilling, new, and unexpected journey with the complex and compelling storytelling that has become a hallmark of the franchise….' 1944 is expected to air on Paramount+. Untitled Beth Dutton & Rip Wheeler series (TBA) Halfway through Yellowstone season 5, Variety confirmed in December 2024 that married couple Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler will receive a spinoff series. Actors Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser will reprise their respective roles as Beth and Rip in their spinoff series, which will supposedly premiere in November 2025. Deadline also reported in July 2025 that Finn Little will return as Carter, the teenage boy under Beth and Rip's care following the death of the former's father. The Beth and Rip spinoff series is being developed in place of Yellowstone season 6. However, more characters from Yellowstone could appear in the spinoff. The Beth & Rip spinoff network information is unknown. It will likely be on Paramount+.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
Taylor Sheridan and Paramount are teaming up to launch a massive new film studio in Texas
'Yellowstone' creator Taylor Sheridan and Paramount are going big in Texas, joining forces to open a 450,000-square-foot production campus in Fort Worth, in a boost to the Lone Star State's growing entertainment economy. The venture, announced Wednesday, comes on the heels of Skydance's $8.4-billion takeover of Paramount and just as Texas has taken major initiatives to encourage more film production, having recently passed legislation increasing its film incentives program to $1.5 billion over the next 10 years. The massive production hub will be situated on the Alliance Texas campus, a 27,000-acre development owned by billionaire Ross Perot Jr.'s Hillwood, a commercial and residential real estate developer and a partner in the project along with Sheridan's and Paramount Television. It will be the largest studio facility in the state, according to officials, and marks another step toward Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's goal 'to make Texas the Film Capital of the World.' 'We are at a pivotal moment where Texas can become a global force in the film industry, and North Texas offers the location and resources to play a central role in this development,' said Hillwood President Mike Berry in a statement. The film campus is composed of two buildings with six sound stages that can support four large-scale productions simultaneously. It is expected to be the home base for such Sheridan-produced shows as 'Landman' and 'Lioness,' which currently film in Texas. The second season of 'Landman' has been filming at the facility since March. The move also marks a turning point for Sheridan's productions. In recent years, Sheridan, who grew up in Fort Worth, has filmed many of his hit television shows — including '1883' — across the state. His productions have brought in hundreds of millions of dollars to local businesses and a stream of tourists in what some in the industry began calling 'the Sheridan Effect.' 'SGS Studios isn't just about sound stages or incentives — it's about reclaiming the independence and grit that built this industry in the first place,' said Taylor Sheridan in statement about the new project.
Forbes
a day ago
- Forbes
Netflix Could Lose ‘Stranger Things' Creators After Season 5 To Paramount+
The world of streaming can be competitive to the point of being cutthroat, and there's a development brewing between Netflix and Paramount that may not go well for the former. Variety reports that Stranger Things creators/showrunners the Duffer Brothers are in 'advanced negotiations' to make movies and shows for Paramount. An existing connection there is that Cindy Holland, Paramount's new streaming head, was the exec who originally greenlit Stranger Things at Netflix, and the rest is history. It wouldn't just be an instant departure. Despite working hard on finishing Stranger Things , the Duffer Brothers have two new series coming in 2026, The Boroughs and Something Very Bad is Going To Happen. There's also an animated Stranger Things feature coming. Rumors of Stranger Things spin-offs have been circulating for a while, and one of those still seems to be in place. But long-term, losing the architects of one of Netflix's most popular series of all time would be less than ideal for them, and it would be a big boon for Paramount+, a service anchored on legacy series and piles of new shows from Yellowstone's Taylor Sheridan like Tulsa King and Landman . Stranger Things will end with season 5 this year with a somewhat ridiculous airing schedule of four episodes airing on November 26, three episode on Christmas Day and the last episode on New Year's Day, as somehow Netflix remains allergic to a true week-to-week offering, opting for these odd breaks instead (currently, Wednesday season 2 is on hiatus until its second half airs in September). We have seen plenty of departures like this before. A recent high profile one was Mike Flanagan, who made such Netflix classics like The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass . Now he's over at Amazon doing Carrie and The Dark Tower series. Netflix is clearly looking for its next Stranger Things -sized hit. That show and Squid Game end this year, though fortunately it does have Wednesday to run for the foreseeable future. It does, however, remain the clear, unequivocal powerhouse in the streaming industry. A recent report said Netflix earns more than all its major streaming rivals combined, and its revenue is surging. Even with big shows ending, it keeps producing consistent hits and retaining subscribers. Paramount+, however, has been on the up after adding a number of well-watched series and distancing itself from a service it was once compared to, Peacock, which is losing boatloads of money. Grabbing the Duffer Brothers for new projects would be a big get for Paramount, but this deal is not done yet. Follow me on Twitter , YouTube , and Instagram . Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy .
