“Landman” is arguably one of the most talked-about shows right now in the United States, but it’s not getting the recognition from Hollywood. The show’s leading man, Billy Bob Thornton, said politics are to blame for show creator Taylor Sheridan’s snubs.
“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 said in an interview with Variety.
Sheridan is a hit maker, and there is no arguing that. The prolific storyteller is the brains behind “Yellowstone,” “Mayor of Kingstown,” and “Tulsa King,” just to name a few. But his awards don’t match his catalog. “Yellowstone” only received one Golden Globe nomination and that was for Kevin Costner, which the actor won. Thornton was up for a Golden Globe this year for his role in “Landman,” but didn’t win.
The cast of “Landman” skipped the Emmys last fall because the show received zero nominations. During the five-year “Yellowstone” run, the show had one Emmy nomination for production design.
Sheridan’s work isn’t represented on entertainment’s biggest stages. Thornton went to explain he thinks critics have the wrong idea about Sheridan’s work.
“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 said.
Sheridan has pushed back on the narrative that his shows lean a certain way on the political spectrum. In 2022, he told The Atlantic he laughs when “Yellowstone” is referred to as a “Republican show.”
“The show’s talking about the displacement of Native Americans and the way Native American women were treated and about corporate greed and the gentrification of the West, and land-grabbing. … That’s a red-state show?” Sheridan asked.
After years in the business, Thornton knows awards aren’t everything. The Oscar-winner said acting isn’t a sport, so the results aren’t always objective.
“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,” Thornton added.
Thankfully for Thornton, he is over the allure of more trophies. The 70-year-old finds more satisfaction speaking truth.
“I’m too damn old now to worry about stuff like that. I got enough awards. I’m good. I’m sure the people that I work for or work with me don’t like to hear that. But I guess when I said I’m too damn old, I guess I’m too damn old to not tell the truth,” Thornton said.
