Landman: The Wild, Wild West Texas

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Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris

It’s mid-December and Billy Bob Thornton is back in his old stomping grounds in Austin, Texas. Since it’s not only the state capital, but the music capital of Texas, I mistakenly assume he’s there for a gig with The Boxmasters, the band he formed in 2007 with Grammy Award-winning recording engineer J.D. Andrew. Instead, he is in town for a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) screening and Q&A.

“I’ve been coming to Austin since I was a kid,” Thornton says. “I run into people I know on the street all the time; I think I know about half the town.” At one point, he was working in Texas so much, he leased a house at Barton Creek Lakeside, a gated waterfront community set on a golf course. “I don’t play golf,” he says laughing, “but it was a cool house.”

Born and raised in Arkansas, Thornton was declared an honorary Texan long ago, possibly because he seems to gravitate toward Texas-centric roles, from Davy Crockett in the 2004 film, The Alamo, to Coach Gary Gaines in the movie, Friday Night Lights, which was released the same year.

Now, he’s earning accolades for his role as Tommy Norris in the Paramount+ series, Landman, based on Christian Wallace’s podcast, Boomtown, and written and produced by Wallace and the prolific Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, Lioness), both of whom hail from Texas. Set in West Texas, much of the filming was done in Fort Worth. Thornton recently earned his seventh Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Tommy Norris (previously winning Best Performance by an Actor in 2015 for his role in the television series, Goliath, and again in 2017 for his part in the limited series, Fargo).

After a cameo in Sheridan’s western, 1883, where he reportedly was asked to “shoot everybody in the saloon and leave,” Sheridan told Thornton he was writing a show for him about a landman working in the Permian Basin of West Texas, casting most critics agree is perfect.

“I’ll put it this way: If I were a landman, I’d probably be about like that,” Thornton says wryly. He recalls instantly being interested in the idea because it was reminiscent of one of his favorite movies, Giant, the 1956 epic Western drama about a wealthy Texas rancher (played by Rock Hudson) and starring James Dean as his rival. “I thought, this is like Giant with cursing.”

After reading the first two or three scripts, Thornton says he was hooked. “I mean, it’s like, wow, he did get my voice, didn’t he? Taylor’s really good at capturing these characters, especially if he’s writing specifically for someone.”

Cursing aside, the dialogue, often sarcastic and heavy on black humor, is garnering accolades for Landman, and Tommy Norris has some classic lines that are Taylor-made to become part of pop culture.

In Episode 2, “Dreamers & Losers,” he tries to dissuade his son, Cooper (played by Jacob Lofland), who has been seriously injured in a blowout that killed several of his fellow crew members, from joining the oil and gas industry. When Norris tells Cooper, who quit college just short of a geology degree, that he’s “selfish” for wanting to work in the oil field, his son asks from his hospital bed, “Then what does that make you?”

Norris responds, “I’m a divorced alcoholic with $500,000 in debt – and I’m one of the lucky ones,” a line Thornton says he loves.

Actors typically stick to the script Sheridan has given them, but Thornton says he was told by the crew that he was the first actor who was allowed to improvise a line or two. “Sometimes, in the moment, you just feel something and you say it – and Taylor is very good about that – but the scripts were so well written, I didn’t have to do much.”

Whether scripted or not, Tommy Norris almost always feels compelled to mutter something under his breath as he is walking away from a conversation with his ex-wife, the provocative Angela Norris (played by Ali Larter). “The line where I say, ‘If she lost the power of speech, I’d marry her again tomorrow,’ is another classic,” Thornton says laughing. “Poor Tommy.”

It’s not hard to empathize. Norris is a man with an all-consuming job, literally and figuratively putting out fires all day long, trying to make money for Monty Miller (played by Jon Hamm), the wealthy owner of the oil company, who is one lawsuit – or heart attack – away from losing it all.

To add to the stress, Norris has to go home to his “eccentric” family, comprised of his ex-wife and two feuding kids, all of whom seem to have shown up in West Texas rather unexpectedly, and his work family – beleaguered company lawyer, Nathan (played by Colm Feore), and grizzled petroleum engineer, Dale (James Jordan) – who also happen to be his roommates in the company house. It’s not exactly one big happy family.

“My dad used to say, ‘Can I not get a minute’s peace?’” Thornton recalls in an amused voice. No doubt, it’s a sentiment Tommy Norris could relate to. In addition to being on call 24/7 in a high-pressure job, a hard living/hard drinking/chain smoking lifestyle, major debt, a wild teenage daughter, a hostile son, an ex-wife he can’t live with/can’t live without, he is kidnapped and tortured by the cartel not once, but twice. You have to wonder what the upside is to being Tommy Norris.

“I’m still looking for it,” Thornton says laughing. “But, people who are in a job and want to excel develop a certain obsession for it. More than finding happiness, it’s about finding his worth. He’s looking for his place in the world and he’ll do anything to get it. He’s not the kind of guy who gives up.”

Neither are the fans of Landman, who are eagerly anticipating the official announcement of season 2.

Billy Bob Thornton Recommends …

We used to go to this place in Weatherford (outside of Fort Worth) all the time. It’s an old tin building and it has an outdoor patio where Tommy Norris can smoke – that’s so important. It’s this old restaurant, kind of a dive, called FINS. We became regulars there. They would just come set down our drinks and our food for us. They didn’t even have to ask us anymore what we wanted to order. We loved that. (FINS Patio Bar & Grill, 810 S Main St., Weatherford, Texas, 76086. Tel: (817) 550-6382.)

Then, of course, up in town are the Stockyards [currently celebrating their 135th anniversary]. I’ve been playing at Billy Bob’s [with my band, The Boxmasters] for years and years and I always thank him for naming it after me (laughs) – even though they didn’t. Robert Gallagher over there’s an old friend and we usually go to Billy Bob’s to see people that we know that are playing there. Tim Love has a couple of restaurants in the Stockyards that we would frequent. (Fort Worth Stockyards, 131 E. Exchange Ave., Fort Worth, Texas, 76164. Tel: (817) 626-7921. Billy Bob’s, 2520 Rodeo Plaza, Fort Worth, Texas, 76164. Tel: (817) 624-7117.)

And, just for history’s sake, we would go over to Joe T. Garcia’s [which will celebrate its 90th year in business on July 4th). It’s a big Mexican restaurant, and a lot of tourists go there. They’re so good to us. We just love to go over there and hang out and see the folks that work there that we know. It’s a big open air kind of place. It’s been there forever; it’s a classic. (Joe T. Garcia’s, 2201 N. Commerce St., Fort Worth, Texas, 76164. Tel.: (817) 626-4356.)

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Ali Larter as Angela Norris

Rebecca Ponton: Talk about “sinking your teeth” into role of Angela Norris and creating her wildly dramatic personality!

Ali Larter: She is just an emotional tornado. I went through a lengthy audition process to get this role. [Taylor Sheridan] has put a lot of care into Angela. He loves to rev my engine and that’s what he wanted with this woman. As you watch this season unfold, he kind of reverse engineered the idea of the trophy wife. You have this woman who’s provocative and extremely comfortable in her body, but then you also see her coming back and trying to heal her family and see if [she and] the love of her life can make that work again.

You get these really vulnerable and raw moments between Tommy [Billy Bob Thornton] and Angela and, for me, what’s been exciting about playing this role. It’s definitely emotionally demanding. Just the energy alone is intense, so when I’m on set I’m not hanging out in the cast chairs; I go into a room and sit quietly and privately by myself. I just have to really hold onto my energy, so that when we go into these scenes, I’m able to embody Angela and give her the “life” that I wanted for this show.

I appreciate that she’s unabashedly bold and unapologetic. It’s exciting to be able to play a character like that. The reaction of women, for me, has also been one of the most exciting things because they love the clothes and the jewelry – and they see part of themselves in her behavior!

RP: You left high school your senior year to model. Most people think of modeling as very glamorous when, in reality, it’s hard work. There’s a similar misconception about the oil and gas industry – everyone is rich! Although Angela isn’t particularly concerned or empathetic toward anyone outside her own little world, what insights did you personally gain into the real lives of oil field workers and their families?

AL: I grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, about 10 minutes in Philadelphia and I started going up to New York and doing small modeling [gigs] and commercials. My mom would drive me up and she was very, very involved with making sure that I was safe going into those environments but, as soon as I had a chance to be around these creative people and tell stories within the world of art, it was just so exciting to me.

I actually graduated early and went to college for a semester. When I left, I spent a year living in Japan and Italy and going to France. I was really too short (laughing) and I just made enough to get by, but it was an opportunity to open doors and explore the world. It changed my lot in life, so on the surface, yes, we think it is glamorous.

When you make a comparison to oil and gas and people’s perception of the oil world, I think that Billy Bob Thornton and Taylor Sheridan have done an amazing job in conveying the dangerous, high stakes world [where] people are rolling the dice and you don’t know where it’s going to land. [The show] goes into these people and these characters and you can really understand how it’s affected their lives.

RP: During COVID, you moved your family from L.A. to Idaho (presumably, for a slower paced, more family-oriented environment). How did that help you relate to Angela leaving her glamorous life as the wife of a billionaire and moving to West Texas (where her options for excitement are either hanging out at the local honky-tonk or entertaining the residents at the nursing home)?

AL: She’s from that world; she was born and bred there. As the story unfolds, what you see is this woman who lost everything when there was a bust. Her husband [Tommy] was a terrible alcoholic and she had two young children to take care of, so for her it’s figuring out how to take the family and protect their children from that terrible bust. You can really start to see and feel these characters when you understand their history. She’s letting all of that go and coming back to the life that she wants.

Moving to Idaho was kind of a lark. When all of our schools were shut down in California, my husband and I took the chance to go [to Idaho] for a couple months and be together as a family because that’s really when you could do that. When we came to visit here, we really fell in love with the town and the people [and] decided that we were going to pivot and raise our family in a small town.

RP: That would be a big change. Thank goodness for airplanes, right?

AL: I’m a professional commuter (laughs), but it is such an extraordinary gift that we rolled the dice and we went for it and we’re just incredibly grateful to be here and to raise our family here.

RP: You’ve been married to your husband, Hayes McArthur, for almost 16 years and you have two children (Teddy, 14, and Vivienne, nine). How difficult is it to switch from your real-life mom mindset with routine and structure to cool “party mom” Angela?

AL: Obviously, she’s very, very different than myself and how Hayes and I raise our children, but I don’t think of it like that. When I dive into a character, I think about their motivations and the things that have happened in their lives that affect them and the choices that they make, so that’s where I come into character. We’re seeing that Angela was trying to take care of her family and that’s her motivation.

RP: Having said that, deep down, Angela loves her children (although you said in a Hollywood First Look interview, “She’s a terrible mom!”) and is trying to create a home and family life for them with her ex-husband, Tommy. Give us some of Angela Norris’ best parenting tips!

AL: Ohh boy, I’m not sure that she has any offer! I will say that Angela is all heart. She’s coming at it with the best intentions and sometimes they go awry!

The response from the fans has been overwhelming and so positive and they just love this unlikely relationship [between Angela and Tommy]. The heart of the show is the family and it’s really exciting to see that unfold. Billy is just such a beautiful actor and he is able to transport into this world. All the actors are amazing. You really start to understand and see them and the cost of oil on their lives. Taylor has been masterful in the way that he interweaves all these storylines and the different tones within the show and I think that is modern day storytelling.

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Michelle Randolph as Ainsley Norris

“I had to find this youthful energy [to play Ainsley Norris]. It was important that I had this essence about me that was free and fun because that’s the kind of person who says the things that she says. I worked really closely with dialect coach, Jessica Drake, who was incredible and found Ainsley’s accent, which helped me fall into her character because, one, it was a layer separate from myself and, two, there’s something very fun and flirty about this cute twang that she has. I miss her voice; I miss doing the accent.

I also did movement coaching and worked with an accent acting coach. I listened to so much country music; I wore cowboy boots, I hung out with Ali and Billy and Jacob. Being in Texas on location, I felt like I was in Landman’s world for six months. I loved it.

Growing up, [country music was] all my dad listened to. I would go to Stagecoach every year, but I definitely went on a full country kick when I was filming.

[Coming from California], I didn’t realize how many real cowboy hats I would see. You would think that working on [Taylor Sheridan’s] 1923 I would be used to that, but Montana is very different than Texas. Everywhere I looked, people had on cowboy hats. I loved everything about Fort Worth; I really did fall in love with it.

Part of what made filming so special is how close we all got as a cast. If we weren’t on set, we were all hanging out at the Stockyards. It feels like a mini Texas Vegas!

It’s really an environment Taylor breeds because he brings so many of the same people from different shows. A lot of the crew worked on 1923 and on Landmen, so everyone’s familiar with each other. It feels like his crews speak a secret language with each other and everyone’s just happy to be there. Everyone is really passionate. It’s the best of the best in the industry and there’s no one giving less than 150%. That kind of energy is contagious and you respect everyone that you’re working with and I think that’s why we got so close.

I learned so much [working with veteran actors Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren in 1923 and Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Hamm and Demi Moore in Landman] not only from an acting perspective, but how they handle themselves on a set. I can say this about every one of the names mentioned: They all are so present on set. They put everything into their roles, so that was really special to see. I felt like on both shows I was getting a master class. It still feels like I’m in a dream; I’m still pinching myself every single day.”

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Jacob Lofland as Cooper Norris

“Cooper’s definitely more of a “sit back and listen and learn” type person. That aspect rings very true to people where I’m from [Arkansas] and that way of life. As a young man, it’s kind of your position to step back and learn more than to speak. It’s the way [Cooper] was raised and I’m taking a lot of that [from] the way I was, too, and bringing that to the screen. It’s [the] respect that I was taught at a young age. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, sit back and watch until you do.

We’re working with these veterans and these amazing actors. The greatest gift of this show for me is just being around these people and getting to witness this awesome work. A lot of times, it’s just small mannerisms [or] sometimes they’ll take a scene in a direction that maybe wasn’t planned or try something new, and you really have to bring your acting abilities up, and stay in character, and stay with them on that same level. It’s kind of like the oil field; you’re never going to learn how to work a set of tongs until you get up there and work a set of tongs all day.

We actually went out to our location [prior to filming] and worked on this rig for an entire week for eight hours a day. We sat in the classroom the first day for an hour and then we just went out and started working – playing with pipe, going back and forth up the derrick, making connections, disconnecting – so that helped dramatically during the shooting. That was an awesome experience and we were very fortunate that we got to do it because it really brings it together and makes the scenes work. I [was] getting to live Cooper’s experience.

We had a bunch of extras that were actual derrick hands and roughnecks. We had an actual crew that ran the rig that you see in the show. That’s a functioning rig and it was their crew. Gary was their driller, Brian was the derrick hand, and Ben and Fidel were the roughnecks. We got to know those guys really well and they helped us so much with lingo and [showing us] this is what you would be doing, and giving that seal [of approval]. They were the most down to earth guys and loved being there. We had great conversations with them. It was really cool to feel like we were a part of it; they were teaching us the real way.

I can’t wait to see where Cooper goes. I’m not even sure yet myself, but I’m really excited for this character to grow into the man that he’s trying to be.”

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Paulina Chávez as Ariana Medina

“Driving from El Paso [where I was born] to San Antonio [where I live now] and back, you see a lot of the oil fields and the oil rigs, but I didn’t know much about it until I received the audition and then I started listening to the Boomtown podcast and I [realized] there’s so much to it.

I didn’t know what [the flaring] was, but now I do. It’s amazing that we have a show that’s able to touch on [the oil and gas industry] and I think it’s something that can raise awareness of what’s entailed, and all the families that are directly impacted by it, and how dangerous it is and how often people can get hurt. [The fatal accident at] the end of episode 5 is what struck me. It impacted me so much.

I remember getting the audition – I was 20 at the time – and I [thought], this is a dream role. There’s so much warmth to Ariana and so much to dig into. I remember [thinking], this would be a dream if only I was a little bit older. When I got a call back, I was like, “The mother role? Are you sure?” Getting the call that Taylor Sheridan was going to trust [me] with this role, was a pinch me [moment]. Sign me up! I’m so excited. This is really the dream.

It was beautiful being able to dig deep and explore Ariana and [tell] our stories and show how resilient and strong women are, Latinas are. All of the women in my life are in this role one way, shape or form.

I had all the information I needed for Ariana, so for most of the crying scenes I kind of tricked my body into crying instead of putting myself in a terrible place. Even in the emotional scenes, we would always try to keep it light-hearted off camera. It was honestly quite healing to be able to be that vulnerable.

[After shooting], I would listen to this album called My 21st Century Blues by Raye. It still is one of my favorite albums. I brought my fairy lights with me; they’re so peaceful. I would have my shower and wash away all of the emotions. And, I had my mom with me the majority of the time.

When I first read the script, I remember telling my mom, “I’m going to be yelling at Billy Bob Thornton, oh my goodness,” but reading that scene, I’m [thinking], I love Ariana! She is so cool. And then meeting Billy Bob – he is the sweetest person ever. It was so fun bringing that [scene] to life.

As an actor, you’re able to not be afraid to do those scenes because it’s not you. There are no real consequences to doing it. So, kicking Billy Bob out of the house was empowering! “Yeah, look at me go!” At first, reading the script, it was intimidating, and then [I had a] conversation with Taylor about what he wanted for that scene and what his vision was, and making sure that our visions aligned. Getting to do it was freeing, honestly.”

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James Jordan as Dale Bradley

“I was born in Houston and my father, ironically enough, was in the oil business [although] more on the analytical side of things, so we moved all over. I lived in the Basin for a few years there in Midland; I lived in Round Rock; I lived in Dallas – I’ve been all over that state. I moved away when I was about 13 to southwest Missouri and finished growing up there. I’ve been in Los Angeles, the Santa Rita Valley, and all around it for the past 22 years, so I’ve been a bit of a nomad. Of course, our line of work takes us all over the country and the world, too, so we call “home” a lot of different places.

Before I took this role, I was really more of the peripheral side of things. When you’re driving out there in the Basin and way out in Odessa and Midland and you’re looking west, east, north and south at those giant rigs, those derricks, those monuments to that wonderful industry silhouetted by the beautiful Texas sun, you think, “What’s going on out there?” It looks like a bunch of old boys just sitting around, just checking things out, but then, like Taylor Sheridan does with our story, you get an insider’s look into that world. It takes a village to do this kind of work. It really is a calling of sorts and it’s some of the hardest, roughest work out there to pull that energy out of the ground.

Taylor Sheridan loves to do the research and prepare his actors as much as possible. We had a five to six day roughneck camp that really did give us hands-on experience into what these roughnecks do. We got our hands on the tools, on the tongs, and we had some of our actors up on the derricks playing derrick hands. Jacob Lofland [who plays Cooper Norris] climbed the derrick. I play the tool pusher – manager of the guys – and I said, “Where do I go?” and the real roughneck said, “You just stand back there and tell us what to do.” I said, “That sounds like a great part. I love it!”

I was ready. I said, “Let’s get up there and get our hands dirty.” This good old boy, Gary, who’s been doing it for 30 plus years was such a valuable asset to the knowledge that we needed to have to do this part.

In unison with Christian Wallace, the co-creator, and a few other folks – even [some] out of Texas Tech – we had a real solid base of experts that we could turn to at any time.

It was really a very inclusive chance to see – abbreviated as it was – what these hard working folks do out there every day, so we were lucky enough just to get a taste of it to bring that authenticity to the screen.”

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Kayla Wallace as Rebecca Savage

“I’m from British Columbia on the [Canadian] West Coast and grew up on a small island called Vancouver Island. Not that I was sheltered from the rest of the world – I had traveled elsewhere – but I didn’t travel to Alberta until a couple years ago. I knew Alberta was where most of Canada’s oil comes from, but I honestly didn’t know much else. So, when I got the audition and I read the script, I was learning so much about the industry and how they actually get the oil out of the ground. It was a big learning experience for me.

With the help of Taylor Sheridan and doing the work on the scenes, I could shape this story in a way that made Rebecca strong, but still human. She’s going into the field of oil and gas and she’s already coming from a world [as a corporate litigator] where she’s [experienced] some discrimination. I knew her skin had to be very thick and, from the beginning, I had to look at the obstacles she’s facing and all the little hurdles that were thrown at her, and [choose] where she spent her energy.

It taught me that she needed to have this quiet confidence that demands respect. As women, there is that stereotype that if we are too emotional in a business setting, it’s frowned upon and it can be scrutinized, so she’s thinking, “How can I come out on top with what I’m up against?” That definitely gave me a sense of Rebecca’s backbone and her thick skin – and her power and her drive.

Taylor Sheridan is such a genius in his writing that it makes [the dialog] roll off the tongue and it helps shape a whole scene when you have a writer as brilliant as he is, but I did spend a year watching live trials on YouTube. I spent countless hours watching Camille Vasquez, who was Johnny Depp’s attorney. I watched the full OJ trial – not the documentary – the real trial. I watched as many celebrity trials as I could, hoping that they’d be a little bit more heightened in their delivery, but I wanted to watch real trials, too.

I sat in on a domestic trial for a couple hours in Fort Worth, which was something else. I was more interested in how the attorneys were handling themselves and presenting themselves and the types of questions that they would ask. It gave me a sense of realism and a feeling of the energy that happens in the courtroom.

There’s definitely a good cop/bad cop thing that Nathan [played by Colm Feore] and I have going on. Nathan is a well-educated, strong lawyer but we definitely have different approaches. That’s all the mastermind of Mr. Taylor Sheridan.”

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Mustafa Speaks as Boss

“That’s the privilege and honor of being an actor: I get to bring all of my experiences, all of my flaws – and everything in between – wrapped into the character. It was really exciting for me to bring that element of mentoring – being an uncle, a protector, a provider and nurturer – to the role of Boss because I know what that’s like firsthand as a son and as a nephew, as a brother and also as a father [of] four kids.

Particularly in Episode 3 when Boss is giving Cooper those words of “Listen, you’re going to deal with sh*t every day; you’re going to see stuff, but you just got to keep going, you got to move forward.” That’s the wisdom that I absorbed from my five “kings” (uncles) and my dad.

I wrote the book, The Mind Muscle Method, during a very difficult time in my life. I wanted to pour that pain into something productive as well as my acting career. I use all of those principles every day in my work as an actor because this field is very challenging and, without a stable foundation, there’s no way I’m going to succeed. I live what I consider an SS-3D lifestyle: Stand strong in the three dimensions of your being: your mind, body and spirit. If I were to empower all three of those elements every day – read something empowering, work out to empower my body, and pray or meditate – there’s nothing that I can’t overcome or accomplish.

One thing Taylor Sheridan did that was so brilliant was set up a roughneck camp. All of us got together to understand the industry. We had classes where we were learning from rig workers [and] people that owned oil rigs. It gave us so much opportunity to connect and build camaraderie, so that when we brought it to set, it was truly authentic. I remember sitting there during my lunch breaks talking to actual operators and actual floor hands to learn more about the culture.

I don’t want to take anything away from the years and expertise and experience that actual operators put in, but I did have a great mentor and trainer named Gary. I actually had to run part of the rig up and down. I had to open the slots and the slips and just do everything that was necessary in order to take the pipe out of the ground and [run it] back in. It was a lot of pressure and responsibility because once those blocks swing, if you lose control of [them] or [the pipe] breaks, then it’s over for everybody. Shout out to the stunt team; they made sure that we were all safe.

Because of the statistics in this particular industry, I am creating and writing my own projects that I look to helm and become that vehicle in which not only myself, or my people, but anyone that deserves an opportunity can have that opportunity. I’m actually working on a project right now. I just optioned a very popular book series that I’m turning into a television series. This [is] an exclusive; it hasn’t been announced yet. I use role models like Taylor Sheridan, Quinta Brunson and Billy Bob Thornton and how they created their own path. With those pieces of advice and those examples, I’m doing it myself, but not allowing the statistics [or] “You’ve never been a showrunner before or you’ve never created a TV show or you’re a Black man in the industry.” That’s not going to hold me back; that’s actually going to be my superpower.”

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Mark Collie as Sheriff Walt Joeberg

“I came into the [entertainment] business playing music and, if you want to play country music, you’re going to play in Texas. I got to know Texas from Texarkana to Lubbock pretty well before I was 21.

[My wife] Tammy and I have lived in Texas a time or two. Then, we were living in Nashville and I got a call from a guy who was trying to get in touch with Merle Haggard. I was one of the guys that they knew could get hold of Haggard. He wanted Merle to sing a song for his baseball club and I said, “Okay, who’s your club?” He said, “The Texas Rangers.”

So, I met Bob Simpson, who cofounded XTO, around 2010 right after they won the [American League] pennant. He and I became friends and we started writing songs together. He wanted to start a music [venture] and Tammy came over and ran the company for him. He was more like the Jon Hamm character [in Landman]. (Laughs.) I learned that I don’t know anything at all about the oil business.

I still have some really great, deep friendships and roots in Fort Worth. Ultimately, I love Texas. I’ve played a lot of shows in Texas and there’s a lot of great fans out there. We love being around Taylor Sheridan’s family and crew. They’re just wonderful people.

The folks who are making this [series] – everybody from Taylor all the way down – have a great sense of who they are, and the stories they tell, what those stories are, and who the people are in those stories, so I don’t know if I brought anything to this character that they didn’t bring with them. It’s a wonderfully cast ensemble of people. I’ve known Billy for many years and it’s great to have an opportunity to work with him.

I’ve been blessed to meet a lot of really brilliant and unusually gifted people, but I’ve never seen anybody work as hard as Taylor does or be as prolific as he is. There’s only one like him. He’s a cross between John Ford and Clint Eastwood. He’s a real cowboy. He’ll work all week long, shooting two shows, and drafting and writing and editing, and then he’ll get on his horse and go out and move 200 head of cattle on the weekend.

Christian Wallace is brilliant. He’s the real deal. He’s lived in this world his whole life and has the ability to tell such a compelling story. Put him together with Taylor and then add Billy and you can see [the brilliance].

The sheriff and Tommy have an understanding [about] what side of the lines to stay on even though the lines can get kind of gray and Tommy might want to bend them a little bit. I hope it looks real because there’s really not much acting to what Billy and I do. We just show up and do it.

Billy and I got inspired by some of the storylines and the romance of this whole saga and we’ve written a couple of [songs] that are going to be part of the soundtrack. I think the action and excitement must be part of being an oilman. It’s kind of like making movies and making records – you always think you can make one more.”

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Christian Wallace Co-Creator and Executive Producer

Rebecca Ponton: The first episode of the Boomtown podcast debuted in 2019. You grew up in Andrews in West Texas and even worked in the oil field for a year after college as a roughneck (more on that later), but what was the impetus for creating Boomtown? What was it, in particular, that you wanted people to know about West Texas, the oil field, the people and the culture?

Christian Wallace: I felt like the boom that was happening out there wasn’t really being covered outside of the trade [publications] and from a very economical, financial, business kind of framing. There was so much that was going untold and that Texas Monthly article kicked off my reporting on it. Then, when Imperative Entertainment approached Texas Monthly about possibly collaborating on a podcast, that article was one that was mentioned. So, I wrote an outline for a potential podcast series and I got the green light.

I had no intention ever of making a podcast but, once I was given that mandate, I thought, “Okay, this is a very unique once in a lifetime opportunity to hear the voices of the people where I’m from, who I care about deeply, and to have their stories told in a way that I personally haven’t ever read or heard or watched.” It was very important to me to tell those stories [from] a broad swath of people – everyone from roughnecks to high school teachers to ranchers and wildcatters – a gamut of individuals living in the Permian Basin.

RP: Describe the West Texas you grew up in. What was it like before it became the epicenter of the U.S. oil and gas industry?

CW: I’m 4th generation West Texan going back to my great-grandfather who was actually the chief of police in Midland during the wild oil boom days of the ‘50s. Growing up in Andrews, I had heard this history of boom and bust. My dad was in high school in the early ‘80s, working for a fishing tool rental company, and experienced the huge boom right before the huge bust. My uncle started in the oil field in high school, as well, and he’s still in it to this day. My brother is in it.

I was born in 1988. I experienced this long lull in West Texas oil and gas. Growing up, I always said people were more likely to leave than to move to Andrews. The population slowly declined and things were pretty quiet in our part of the oil field in Andrews County.

In the mid-2000s, you started to have technology with fracking and horizontal [drilling] coming into play. Around 2010-ish, things started to get really busy again. I had gone off to Ireland to get my master’s degree and I had heard from my buddies back home, “We’re booming!” This was the first time in my life I’d heard those words about my hometown.

I’d always been curious about the oil and gas industry, so I decided I would go work for at least a year to pay off some of the student loans I had taken out to live in Ireland for almost two years, and see the boom firsthand.

RP: Talk about the year you worked as a roughneck. Did you experience anything like what we’re seeing on Landman?

CW: One of the most moving scenes to me is Cooper’s first day on the job when his crew comes and picks him up at the man camp and he’s sitting in the back seat, and his crew members are speaking Spanish to one another, and he’s a little lost, a little scared, a little excited. The way Jacob Lofland plays that part is so spot on, it takes me back to being in that back seat and [thinking], “What have I gotten myself into?” That truly is one of those transcendent moments for me; that’s a piece of my life captured on film. A lot of people who have worked in the oil field probably have had a similar experience.

I knew I wasn’t going to be a lifer, [though]. I wanted to be a writer and I was going to find a way to make that happen someday, but I really leaned into the experience. I worked for a great company in Andrews – Snow Oil & Gas – and I was kind of like a pinch hitter. I would move to whatever rig needed a hand that day. When I wasn’t roughnecking, I got to do a variety of jobs – I went to the northeast as a “pig catcher” (a “pig” is a pipeline inspection gauge) – that showed me a lot about the industry and it really deepened my appreciation for West Texas, too.

We had wells to service from Artesia, New Mexico, to Big Spring down toward Fort Stockton. I got to see all this really beautiful land and I came to appreciate those early mornings when it’s just you and the jackrabbits, a beautiful sunrise, and a cotton field. You’re starting to rig up and you’re just going to trip pipe for the next 10 hours. There’s something very edifying about that work.

There’s so much safety now, [but] accidents do happen. When you’re working around that much machinery that is so heavy, so unforgiving, it doesn’t take much – a few inches and that’s a digit gone. My uncle has been the patch for over 30 years and he just lost a finger a couple years ago – a veteran of the field and it finally cost him his finger. That’s part of what I wanted to express: People literally will risk life and limb to procure this resource that we all benefit from.

Something that doesn’t get acknowledged enough are the sacrifices that people make to provide this thing that we all use and depend on. That was important for me to relay in both the podcast and what we’re doing now with Landman. It’s not to villainize the industry; it’s just to say, “Look, it’s a dangerous job and people have got to do it if you and I want to put tires on our vehicle or fly to see our families at Christmas – or you name it.” Those experiences have stayed with me and are part of the DNA of our storytelling now.

RP: You’ve talked about how Boomtown became a podcast based on some of your articles, but what was the progression from the podcast to it eventually becoming Landman?

CW: Taylor and I had touched base previously on a couple other stories I had written for Texas Monthly, so we were on each other’s radar [although] I think he was much more on my radar than vice versa (laughs), but if I had one choice for the person who I would have wanted to adapt Boomtown into a TV series, it would have been Taylor. He and his producing partner approached Imperative, which had the rights to Boomtown, and made that deal. I was just ecstatic about how it played out.

Then, Taylor and I spent about two years talking about story and characters and the oil field and, at some point, he said, “Why don’t you write a spec script?” I did and I heard back from him a couple of weeks later and he said, “You’re going to be the co-creator and the producer and I want you to help me make the show.” He didn’t have to bring me in in that way, in that capacity whatsoever, but he did, and it’s been a big blessing.

To learn more about Christian Wallace, visit his website. Listen to the Boomtown podcast here.

Note: All of the interviews for the Landman feature were conducted by Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Ponton from December 11 to 19, 2024. The Landman season finale aired on January 11, 2025, on Paramount+.

Rebecca Ponton has been a journalist for 30+ years and is also a petroleum landman. She is the author of Breaking the GAS Ceiling: Women in the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry (Modern History Press; May 2019). She is also the publisher of Books & Recovery.

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Outtakes  

Headline photo credit: Emerson Miller/Paramount+