Landman’s Billy Bob Thornton and Sam Elliott Discuss Real Emotions

The second episode of Landman Season 2 enters some of the series’ most emotional territory yet.

THE Landman episode, titled “The sins of the father“, highlights the complicated dynamic between Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) and his father, TL (Sam Elliott). It also offers viewers a closer look at the messy relationship of Tommy and his son Cooper (Jacob Lofland) as they attempt to resolve their issues with each other.

Cooper is still heartbroken over his breakup with Ariana (Paulina Chavez), who couldn’t handle the risks of his job. Trying to clear his head, he joins Tommy on a trip to visit TL and begin planning his mother’s funeral. Throughout the episode, Cooper discovers the full weight of his father’s traumatic past. From his father’s abuse to losing his mother to her addiction, Cooper and viewers finally realize how much Tommy has suffered.

In an interview with TV InsiderElliott spoke about the emotions he felt when first reading the script. The actor praised Taylor Sheridan for his ability to tackle all these themes of remorse and introspection.

I don’t think about going there. I don’t think, “I have to be emotional here.” I have to cry here. I have to do this or that. It just comes from working with quality material that demands everything it demands, and Taylor is brilliant at it. He just writes for actors. I don’t know if it’s because he’s an actor himself, or if he’s just a brilliant man who understands human nature, he just writes for us. …There’s that old adage, “If it’s not on the page, it’s not on stage,” and it’s on every page of Taylor’s material I’ve ever looked at.

Things get even more emotional after Tommy apologizes to his son for being an absentee father. The two make amends and viewers finally get to see Cooper let out his grief and cry. Thornton revealed how this scene really touched his heart because it made him think about his children and his complicated relationship with his own father. He explained how he drew inspiration from his real-life experiences while playing this scene, and it brought out so many real emotions in him.

I have sons. I have a daughter. I had a difficult relationship with my father. I mean, all these things are there. So I used my life experience as an actor. Sam and I both sort of came from a completely natural acting school. We’re not fancy guys. So if I don’t want to cry, I don’t… There are scenes where maybe it’s supposed to be one thing, and I do another. Sometimes I bawl my eyes out in a scene that doesn’t say that to your face. In this case, they coincided, and I couldn’t help it, because when you have children and you have children, you have had difficulties, love, joy and everything that is in a family, when you do scenes about it, you don’t think about it so much beforehand. It’s just that when you’re in the middle of it and you’re talking to someone – when Jacob was talking to me – you can’t help it. I mean, you go. And Taylor writes very natural stuff, and he hired a bunch of natural actors, I mean, that whole cast… he knew what he was doing there.

This episode of Landman features some of the most intimate and vulnerable moments of the series. It reveals decades of pain that haunted and shaped the characters. The actors’ raw performances and Sheridan’s talented writing make the series stand out from others in its genre. With more episodes to come, the series proves to be much deeper than just drama.

Landman season 2 releases new episodes every Sunday on Paramount+.