bv. Billy Bob Thornton is finally saying what Hollywood won’t. As Landman’s explosive season 2 finale drops, the Oscar winner is speaking out about why Taylor Sheridan—one of television’s most talked-about creators—still doesn’t get the awards love many believe he deserves. And according to Thornton, it has nothing to do with talent or impact. Instead, he points to politics, trends, and whether a creator fits the “right” image at the right moment. Thornton hails Sheridan’s storytelling as raw, fearless, and deeply human—the kind of work audiences can’t stop watching, even when trophy voters choose to look the other way. As fans celebrate the finale, his remarks reignite a heated debate: just because a show isn’t stacking awards doesn’t mean it isn’t hitting hardest where it truly counts…
The Oscar-winning ‘Landman’ star opens up about the beloved series amid the season 2 finale.
It feels like Landman just launched on Paramount+. And now, the second season has already come to a close, strangely enough.
It certainly went out with a bang — and in honor of the newly aired season finale, star Billy Bob Thornton has been making the rounds to share about his embattled character Tommy’s journey throughout this wild second installment.
In a recent interview with Variety, the Oscar winner, 70, also shared about the show’s co-creator, Taylor Sheridan, and why his beloved shows often get under-appreciated at awards shows.
“I think a lot of it’s political. I really do. I think some people assume Taylor is some sort of right-wing guy or something, and he’s really not,” Thornton told the magazine in an article published Sunday, Jan. 18. “Even with this show being about the oil business, he just shows you what it’s like. He’s not saying ‘Rah, rah, rah for oil.’ It’s just the people who work in this business or who are affected by this business, the people on the periphery and within the families in the business; this is what happens. These are the kinds of problems and joys and triumphs and whatever happens in this world. It’s a world of gambling, and you never know what’s going to happen. But I think people got the wrong idea about that.”
Thornton continued, “Acting is not a sport. If you run the 100-meter dash in the Olympics and you break the tape first, you win. There’s no question about it. Everybody saw it. How do you say in the artistic world who won? It’s an intangible thing. Then people say, ‘Well, any one of the nominees besides me could have won this. They’re all wonderful actors.’ Not only them, some other actors in the audience who weren’t nominated, some other ones who aren’t even at the show, some other ones who aren’t even known by people have done an amazing job. If you put your heart and soul into something you love, and you’re satisfied with your work, and it works in the thing, there’s the award.”
