Why Billy Bob Thornton Was ‘Literally Crying' Over a Sudden Phone Call About His 1993 'Tombstone' Co-Star

Billy Bob Thornton had a very emotional reaction to this very iconic Western actor joining the Landman cast.

In a recent Paramount+ Q&A panel, the hit drama's stars, Billy Bob Thornton, AliLarter, DemiMoore, and SamElliott opened up about working on the series.

When asked how he reacted to learning that Elliott would play his father in the second season, Thornton joked, "I called my agent and screamed at him."

Landman follows Thornton's character, TommyNorris, who works as a landman for an oil company in West Texas. As the second season approached, the search for the actor who would play Tommy's father began. Elliott was the clear choice.

The show's creator, Taylor Sheridan, called Thornton to give him the news.

"That is the absolute truth," the actor said. "He goes, ‘Hold on to your britches,' and when he told me it was Sam, I went to my wife, Connie, and I was literally crying when I told her. Because I love this guy."

He explained that the actors go "way, way back." The pair worked together on the 1993 film Tombstone and more recently on the 2021 show 1883, which was also created by Sheridan.

Elliot's time on the show influenced him to join Landman.

He explained, "after having an experience with Taylor on ‘1883,' and getting to know him, and being a part of ‘Taylor World' if you want to call it that… it's just a gift to be a part of it. Working with this caliber of actors and having that material that Taylor Sheridan generates consistently, you can't ask for any more. We're just so lucky to be here and do what we do."

Landman premiered in 2024, with the second season released in late 2025. It is renewed for a third season.

The series has been extremely popular. The first episode of the second season received 9.2 million views in two days. This was a 262% increase from the Landman premiere and a Paramount+ record.

Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 3:53 PM.