What Sam Elliott's Landman Co-Stars Have Really Said About Him

In 2025, Oscar-nominated actor Sam Elliott joined the cast of the second season of "Landman," the hit Paramount+ show about Texas oil drilling. He'd worked with "Yellowstone" creator Taylor Sheridan on the prequel series "1883," and they'd gotten along well, so the creator wrote him into "Landman." Elliott told USA Today that Sheridan texted him, "I'm going to get your a** back to work."

In an interview with Variety, Elliott downplayed what a big deal it is to have an actor of his caliber on a streaming show like that. "What I feel like is that I'm just old and I'm still lucky to be working," he said. When Sheridan offered him the opportunity to reunite on set, Elliott jumped at the chance, never even considering turning "Landman" down. "He's such a talented man," Elliott said. "I just feel fortunate to be involved with him. I know for a fact that everybody on the show feels the same way."

Everyone on the show feels the same way about Elliott, too. Even though he wasn't part of the cast on the show's first season, Elliott quickly became a beloved presence on set, and many of the show's other regulars frequently talk about what working with him is like. Read on to learn what Sam Elliott's "Landman" co-stars have really said about him.

"Heroes" star Ali Larter plays Angela on "Landman," the ex-wife of Billy Bob Thornton's character Tommy. Though they're no longer married, Angela is very much involved in all of the scheming and maneuvering going on in the family business, inserting herself into the drama and trying to seize outcomes beneficial to herself and her children.

Sam Elliott plays T.L., Tommy's father, which makes him the grandfather to Angela's kids. She's also the reason why T.L. moves into the Norris home in the show's second season, meaning Larter shares the screen with Elliott a fair bit. She's more than happy to do so, and she told People that she's especially charmed by the way Elliott is so different than the on-screen persona he's perfected throughout his decades-long career. "He comes on set, he still has just every bit of that growl in his voice, and he's this masculine cowboy," she said, "who's just a real sweetheart on the inside."

For the record, Larter is a big champion of many aspects of "Landman." When she appeared on The Hollywood Reporter's "Awards Chatter" podcast, she was asked to respond to discourse about how the show's creator writes female characters across his many streaming shows. She fired back at Taylor Sheridan critics with five simple words: "It's just a false narrative."

Sam Elliott's "Landman" character T.L. is the ailing father of Billy Bob Thornton's character Tommy, which means the two characters share some incredibly emotional scenes. There are even "Landman" scenes that Thornton struggles to film with Elliott, while behind the scenes, the two have developed a bond that's emotional in its own way.

It started as soon as Thornton got the news that he was going to have an iconic, talented new co-star. In fact, he cried when he heard Elliott would be part of the cast. Thornton told Entertainment Tonight, "I knew it was right, and I knew that I could see ahead what it would be." He said his optimism came from Elliott's well-earned reputation, explaining, "He's so amazing, and there wasn't going to be any kind of difficulty in doing a real scene."

Plus, some of the emotion was excitement. Thornton and Elliott know each other on a personal level, having worked together on "1883," so the "Sling Blade" star said he was excited to spend time with his friend. For his part, Elliott said he had no idea Thornton was so affected by the news. He grinned, "That's the last thing I would think that Billy Bob Thornton would be doing is crying over me."

Part of the appeal of "Landman" isn't just one main character's story. In addition to following Tommy's story, "Landman" is also about intergenerational conflict, about family dynasties that try to retain control of their land no matter how many people try to cut them off from their legacy. Sam Elliott plays Tommy's father, but Jacob Lofland plays Cooper, his son, the heir apparent to the family business.

That means Lofland and Elliott get to work together a lot, and the younger actor initially felt intimidated by working with such a legend. He told People that it was overwhelming to see Elliott acting opposite Billy Bob Thornton, and he initially forgot that he was supposed to be part of the scene. "I was just sitting, watching these two legends do some amazing things in front of me. And it's so good, it took me out of [the scene]," he said. "It took me to [the shoes of] an audience member, and then I realized, 'Oh, I got to say something. Hold on.'"

Lofland also acknowledged the sheer star power that Elliott brought to the cast — which is no small feat, considering the first season's ensemble had a recurring character played by the likes of Jon Hamm. "Everyone we had last year was star-studded," Lofland said, "but I don't think any of us had any idea that it was going to catch [on] like it did and take off the way it did."

Jacob Lofland isn't the only younger actor who is happy to pay their respects to the elder members of the cast. Paulina Chávez plays Cooper's girlfriend Ariana, and although she's nowhere near as much of an industry vet as her co-stars, Chávez has found the "Landman" set to be a welcoming place to work. 

In an interview with The Bare Magazine, for example, Chávez said she likes the cast dynamic most of all. "We've all built an amazing bond in the face of creating something we're all passionate about," she said. Sam Elliott, in particular, has become one of the actor's favorite people to interact with on set. "Being able to share the screen with Sam Elliott is a dream," she gushed. "He's absolutely incredible."

Elliott isn't the only castmate she's shouted out in interviews. In an interview with People, Chávez said Billy Bob Thornton made the "Landman" set a fun place to be, and she explained that she took away that important lesson from acting opposite actors who have been around for so long. "I think that's the key to longevity in this career, is to just remember where you come from," she said, "and not be a gatekeeper."

Kayla Wallace is part of a Hallmark Channel power couple, so she knows a thing or two about what it's like to mix your on-set life with your off-set life. After all, she and her husband Kevin McGarry initially met on the set of Hallmark's "When Calls the Heart," and they've gone on to star in multiple Hallmark films together. After Wallace and McGarry film together and then head home together, it must feel like they haven't left set at all.

Coincidentally, Wallace revealed to People that her "Landman" co-star Sam Elliott treats the set like a place to hang out, including when he's not actually working. "He never leaves," she said. "Even if he's not in a scene, he shows up early to set. He'll find a place to sit — a bench, an apple box, whatever. He's not fussy."

Like a lot of the "Landman" cast, it seems that Elliott views his castmates like a sort of workplace family. Wallace explained, "[He's] just happy to sit there and be a part of it and watch all of us perform."

Across the many decades of his career, fans have watched Sam Elliott transform from '70s heartthrob to "Landman" icon. Many of the younger members of the "Landman" cast understandably look up to the elder actor, but there are also certainly people on the cast who have resumes that are long and impressive in their own right.

That includes Colm Feore, who plays Nathan, one of the attorneys at the M-Tex Oil company. He told People that he appreciates Elliott's constant presence on the "Landman" set, agreeing with co-star Kayla Wallace that Elliott's tendency to hang around makes the whole thing feel more like a family. "The support, there's really that feeling of a remarkable ensemble, a company of support," he explained.

However, Feore acknowledged that Elliott's legendary status does something else to an actor trying to work. He joked, "It does up the [stakes] when you're trying not to suck, right?"

If "Landman" star Michelle Randolph looks familiar, it might be because she's worked with Taylor Sheridan before. Randolph broke out as part of the cast of "1923," the second "Yellowstone" prequel series. Her character lived several decades too late to have appeared alongside "1883" stars (and future "Landman" stars) Sam Elliott and Billy Bob Thornton, but Randolph got to work with an impressive, experienced cast nonetheless, sharing the screen with the likes of Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.

On "Landman," though, Randolph told her co-star Demi Moore for Interview Magazine that she savors her opportunities to work with the older cast members. One scene in particular, when most of the cast danced in a bar scene, was a great experience. "Apparently that was written in the stars, the luckiest day of the year," she said. "I remember calling my agent after, and I was like, 'I think it really is the luckiest day of the year,' because I was on set with you and Sam, Billy, Andy [Garcia], and Ali [Larter]. I was just like, 'Yep, it's a pretty good day.'"

In an interview with KTLA, Randolph expressed a similar sentiment, crediting luck for what her daily life is like now. "I still pinch myself," she said. "I mean, Sam Elliott could say good morning to me!"

Sam Elliott and Andy Garcia both became "Landman" series regulars in the show's second season, but Garcia's cartel boss character Gallino made his first appearance in the Season 1 finale. That means Garcia got to meet the famously tight-knit "Landman" cast before Elliott did ... but Garcia also met Elliott before the "Landman" cast did.

At a television festival panel alongside the rest of the cast, the "Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar" star revealed that he'd run into Elliott at a hotel and decided to approach his soon-to-be co-star. "The first time I saw Sam at the hotel, he was sitting alone in the restaurant nursing a martini. Totally at peace," Garcia said (via People). He asked Elliott whether he'd like to join them, and the rest was cast chemistry history. "That was my introduction to Sam," he said. "It was a beautiful sight."

If Dale from "Landman" looks familiar, you might already be a fan of actor James Jordan and not even realize it. After all, if you're a Taylor Sheridan fan, you might have seen "Wind River," which was only the first time he worked with the writer/director. Jordan went on to appear on "1883," "Mayor of Kingstown," "Yellowstone," and "Lioness," not to mention in Sheridan's 2021 film "Those Who Wish Me Dead." Can you really call "Landman" a reunion if they basically never stopped working together?

On the latest Paramount+ show, he plays Tommy's rough-and-tumble roommate. In the second season of the show, Sam Elliott's character T.L. moves into the house, meaning Jordan and Elliott share plenty of scenes. At first, Jordan couldn't help but admit to being a fan of his scene partners. "I said out loud to Sam Elliott and Billy Bob Thornton, I said, 'I cannot believe I'm standing here with you two, acting.' I grew up in small-town Missouri, watching their movies and watching them do it," he explained on "Peak Talk." Elliott replied, "Well, we're lucky that you're here, buddy."

Jordan went on to say that Elliott and Thornton had helped make "Landman" his best Taylor Sheridan experience yet. "They open you up as an actor," he said. "All you want to do is your best work, every day."