Billy Bob Thornton Unpacks Landman Finale, Sends Message to Fire Victims

[This story contains major spoilers from the season finale of Landman, “The Crumbs of Hope.”]

Perilous beginnings looped back around in the finale of Landman.

Billy Bob Thornton’s oil company fixer Tommy Norris ended the season similarly — yet, nearly more perilously — than he began in Sunday’s closer for season one of Paramount+‘s new hit series about the Texas oil industry from Yellowstone boss Taylor Sheridan and co-creator Christian Wallace.

In “The Crumbs of Hope,” Tommy gets promoted when his lifelong friend and boss, Monty Miller (played by Jon Hamm), is laying on his deathbed due to a weak heart. Tommy takes over Monty’s multi billion-dollar oil company M-Tex Oil and quickly finds himself pressured into continuing to churn a profit for Monty’s legacy: his wife Cami Miller (Demi Moore) and their two daughters.

Tommy agrees to adhere to Monty’s wishes and frack some of the oil wells to increase production and wealth for the company. Amid all of this is also stress swirling from his own family: his fiery teenage daughter Aynsley (played by Michelle Randolph) and her new, young romance; his high-maintenance but newly reconciled ex-wife Angela (played by Ali Larter); and his stubborn son Cooper (played by Jacob Lofland), now in love with the widowed wife of an M-Tex patch worker.

But then Tommy is again kidnapped, hooded and taken to an unknown location by Jimenez (Alex Meraz) and the cartel he has been coming head-to-head with all season. This abduction proves to be even more violent, bloody and painful for Tommy, until a surprise character (played by guest actor Andy Garcia) comes to the rescue — but for a price. The season ends with a battered Tommy realizing his hands remain figuratively tied, as he makes a deal with Garcia’s cartel boss, Gallino, to co-exist with the cartel in the patch.

The Hollywood Reporter recently caught up with Thornton via Zoom at his home in San Luis Obispo, California, to discuss the ending of Landman, doing his own abduction stunts and how the final scene sets up his hopes for a possible second season.

But as the wildfires continue to rage in Los Angeles County, more was on Thornton’s mind than just wanting to discuss his successful show. “I just want to say my heart goes out to all those people in L.A. who are going through these terrible fires,” Thornton expressed to THR. “We lost our house in ‘93 in the Malibu fires; so, I’ve been through it. And it’s so devastating. So, we have to wake up every day and realize the most important thing is life and limb and family.”

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What did you enjoy most while filming Landman after the show wrapped for season one?

First of all, I loved being around this cast and crew. They were really top-notch. They gave 100 percent every day, and we all got very close. It’s probably one of the most fun casts and crews I’ve been around; to come to work every day was a joy. And to be able to do the scenes that Taylor [Sheridan, co-creator] has written and tell the story he wrote, because his dialogue really captured what these characters are trying to say. This dialogue really told the story and it was a pleasure to say his words. And Paramount was so behind us, really rooting for us. We had no idea it was going to become the hit that it has; all of a sudden, we got a monster on our hands. So it was a wonderful experience working the whole time, and telling this story was really important to all of us.

In some ways, the finale is the beginning of the series, with Tommy once again abducted by the cartel. But this time, in a much more violent and bloodier attack. How much were you in those gruesome scenes with the horrific beatings, gasoline being poured all over and rusty nails being hammered into Tommy’s thigh?

Yeah, that was all me. I actually had this stuff dumped on my head — that was me underneath the bag, twice. And it was really interesting because Andy Garcia and I have known each other for years and years, but this was our first time working together. But it felt very natural and real to have two grizzled-in veterans facing off against each other. Andy and I, I think, work very well together.

In those kinds of scenes, you just have to put yourself in that place like that’s actually happening. And that night, it felt that way. Plus, I was exhausted. By the time we did the outside scene, I could barely stand up. So, there’s no acting going on there. I would lean on the wall between every take. (Laughs)

What is your take on the young cartel leader not considering the possible repercussions of ending Tommy’s life, and taking on such a big oil titan and company?

I think a lot of times they are what in the old movies they used to call henchmen. They want to impress the boss. And now that I’m dealing with Andy’s character, who is the head guy of this thing, I’m dealing with someone who is smarter, which can be a good and a bad thing. Smarter so you can talk to him intelligently, but at the same time, he’s smarter, so there’s no telling what kind of tricks he has up his sleeve.

With the other guys, all they really have is their brawn. They come in there wanting to mess you up! I think probably the actual attempt to just go ahead and rub me out was a just a thing of passion once I talked back to him. if I just sat there and took It, then maybe it wouldn’t have gotten to that point. But these are guys who are used to a world of crime in a real violent world. Once you like spit in their face, sometimes the gun just comes out. So, I’m not sure they thought it through that much, and they found out later that they were about to mess up.

Is Tommy a man of faith, or does he just see himself as someone who is lucky?

I think Tommy tries to walk through life knowing what pressure he is under from all sides — the oil business; his family, the passing of his boss and having to now take the torch. I think Tommy tries to focus on the job, almost like putting himself in autopilot. Because if he thought about it too much, because Tommy is a passionate guy, he’d probably be where Jon Hamm’s character ended up. I think he knows he has a job to do and I think Tommy is very driven and obsessed with succeeding at what he does. I don’t think he wants to be a failure.

So, does he want to take over M-Tex Oil after Monty’s (Jon Hamm) death?

He probably doesn’t want to, but he knows he has to. I think he owes a debt to his old friend and boss, because that’s what he wanted. And I think also, just because of his knowledge of the business, he knows he’s the one to do it. He does not want to put the suit on, but he knows he’s got to. And I don’t mean technically the suit (laughs) — I don’t think Tommy will ever change clothes.

In the scene where Tommy’s wife and daughter want to celebrate their own win, but you’re explaining that Monty is probably going to die and that you’ll have to take over to keep the company going, Tommy has a great line where he says, “Men die, oil companies don’t die. My job ain’t’ going anywhere.” With equally high demands that his family places on him, what might take Tommy out first — the oil business (dealing with cartels, etc.) or his family?

(Laughs) Well, you know, Tommy loves his family. He loves his son, but he sees himself in his son because Cooper is as hard-headed as Tommy, and you don’t want to see your kids in danger. Now he’s just coming up saying, “By the way, I’m about to put myself in danger.” He doesn’t like that. He loves his son, but every day is a nightmare with him.

His wife Angela, his ex-wife, who now it looks like they’re getting back together, they’re completely different people on the surface. But there’s some chemistry that they have that has never gone away. So they love each other, but boy is it hard to live with each other. I mean, they couldn’t be more night and day in terms of what they want to do on a daily basis.

And the daughter Aynsley, I have a 20-year-old daughter who’s in college right now. And I if she came in and said some of this stuff to me! So every time Michelle, who plays my daughter, says some of that stuff she says to me [about her sex life], I’m like, “Oh, my God!” It’s no acting required; you know what I mean?

What have you heard about there being a season two? Also, what is the symbolism with Tommy and the coyote sizing each other up at the very end of the finale?

Well, the first question about season two, we don’t know officially that we’re going to have one. Usually shows that are this successful, they’d do it again; so, I can only imagine that they would, but I don’t know for sure.

The symbolism of the coyote to me, and I’ve talked to Taylor about this quite a bit, there was more dialogue in both of the coyote scenes originally. We talked it over and said, “You know what, I think these are essentially silent scenes because this is Tommy locking eyes with this wild coyote.” I think Tommy looks at that coyote and at the end, it’s like, “Here they come. They are coming for me.” Or, “Ae they  coming for me? Am I the coyote, am I looking myself in the eye? Am I this lone wolf out here, just running across these plains trying to keep from getting killed? Or is the coyote the cartel?” I think it’s a very symbolic moment of Tommy trying to figure out who he is here. And I think he’s kind of staring himself, and possibly death, in the eye.

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The full season of Landman is now streaming on Paramount+.