What Ali Larter's Landman Co-Stars Have Really Said About Her

Fans of late '90s and early '00s cinema are plenty familiar with Ali Larter. The actor had her breakout role in the 1999 coming-of-age football flick "Varsity Blues," and she appeared alongside Reese Witherspoon in the iconic comedy "Legally Blonde" in 2001. Larter was also a star in the first two "Final Destination" films, proving that she has plenty of range. Some of her other career highlights have included "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," "Heroes," and "Obsessed." 

Though she has a number of hits on her resume, Larter certainly isn't one to rest on her laurels. For one thing, she had to work to land the part of Angela Norris in "Landman"; the role wasn't just handed to the Hollywood veteran. "I had to do 19 pages, a long monologue that I got the night before. And you know, I think that process almost burned me out. I was so raw at that point, I almost didn't care. I was ready to go. I was like, 'If you don't want this, then I don't want you,'" Larter said on "CBS Mornings" of the audition process for the show, which lasted three months.

But the audition process ended in Larter's favor as she got the role in the hit Taylor Sheridan series. Her work as Angela has resulted in an Actor Award nomination alongside her castmates, as well as critical praise for her performance. Larter has also earned the affection of her co-stars. Here's what the "Landman" cast has said about Larter.

Billy Bob Thronton and Ali Larter hadn't met prior to working on "Landman" together. Thornton, of course, is an Oscar-winning writer and actor known for films like "Sling Blade," "A Simple Plan," and "Bandits," so he knows a thing or two about storytelling. And as he said in an episode of "CBS News Sunday Morning," upon meeting Larter, he instantly understood why Taylor Sheridan cast her. The two play ex-husband and ex-wife in "Landman," and their natural chemistry is palpable. "I love Ali. She's awesome. I mean, I couldn't do this without her ... Our relationship in real life is so similar to the one in the show," Thornton said.

In the interview, Thornton shared that while he keeps his personal style casual and loves a good dive bar, Larter appreciates the finer things in life. "She's like, 'Babe, listen, you're No. 1 on the call sheet. I am not letting you go in that dump again,'" Thornton said. "She leads me around by the ear in real life, too, and I love every minute of it."

Though Larter and Thornton may be very different people, it's clear they not only see eye to eye when it comes to making good TV, but understand that their own differences work well for their characters. "Me and Billy in real life, are complete opposites," Larter said on a 2024 episode of "CBS Mornings Plus." "But when we came together... we both loved the material, and we found the love in these two characters."

Ali Larter and Billy Bob Thornton's real-life relationship is great, and that's part of what makes their characters' dynamic pop on the screen, too. And even when they take breaks between seasons, the two actors don't lose that momentum. "Ali and I keep in touch between seasons ... And our relationship — particularly the fun part of our relationship — we have it in real life, too. So, it wasn't so much that we had to jump back into it. We couldn't wait to get back into it," Thornton said in a 2025 interview with Sharp. "The chemistry was immediate. We just go with that. We go with everything that's real. There's no studying," he said.

It's more than safe to say the admiration goes both ways. Larter has worked with some great actors during her career — Reese Witherspoon in "Legally Blonde" and Idris Elba in "Obsessed," for example — but she seems to have a particular affinity for Thornton. "Are you kidding me? It's like a master class every day," she said in an interview for "CBS News Sunday Morning" of sharing scenes with the "Tombstone" actor. "The thing about Billy is, he won't have an inauthentic moment." And on an episode of "Not Skinny but Not Fat," Larter noted how natural her connection with Thornton feels day in and day out. "I have so much respect for him as an actor that it's just, it's so easy for me to find the chemistry," she said.

Ali Larter has also formed a strong connection with the actor who plays her daughter on "Landman." Michelle Randolph, who plays Ainsley Norris on the hit drama, has nothing but good things to say about working with Larter. And like Larter's on-screen relationship with Billy Bob Thornton, much of Larter and Randolph's on-screen relationship has been informed by their off-screen bond. "We clicked immediately when we met. We were each other's sounding boards for Season 1 when we were still figuring out where we fit into this show," Randolph said in a 2026 interview with the Toronto Sun. Randolph is a big fan of Thornton, too. "They bring so much to the show and to my life. They've become very important people to me ... I'm so lucky to work with such legends," she said of her on-screen parents.

Randolph has also shared that she and Larter have a strong behind-the-scenes bond, and it's only getting stronger. "As our relationship has developed, because she's become one of my great friends, that depth kind of shows in the show," Randolph said of her relationship with Larter in an interview with The TV Watercooler. "It's cool that our lives are kind of emulating Ainsley and Angela's," she added, noting that because they met ahead of the 2023 writers' and actors' strikes, they were able to connect during the strike and sit with their characters before filming.

"Landman" star Michelle Randolph has learned a lot working with Ali Larter on the Taylor Sheridan hit series. Larter, as noted, has been in the industry for decades, and she's not only imparted some of her wisdom onto Randolph, but makes a point of building up her TV daughter. In a 2025 "The Ben Mulroney Show" interview, Randolph said of Larter, "She gives some great, great advice. She has a lot of experience with this kind of character ... She always plays these really bold, confident women. It was intimidating for me to step into in the beginning of my career, but for her, she just gave me a lot of confidence it it, and was like, 'just have fun with it.'"

It should come as no surprise that Larter has only ever had great things to say about Randolph. In a 2025 "Digging Deep" video, Randolph suggested she could play Larter in a movie, and an enthusiastic Larter agreed. "Dream. I'd love it. I think the greatest thing that we have is our chemistry and how easy we are together. Not only do you play my daughter, but you're also my friend," Larter said to Randolph. "You feel everything in life. You feel the great, and you feel the difficult challenges in life, and that's what makes you so beautiful."

Ali Larter and the stunning Demi Moore knew each other well before they started filming "Landman" together. Moore, who plays Cami Miller, the fierce wife of a billionaire oilman, on "Landman" moved to Idaho with ex-husband Bruce Willis decades ago, and after they split, she stayed in the Gem State. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Larter and her family left Hollywood and moved to Idaho, and they became neighbors with Moore. 

Thanks to their time on "Landman," Larter and Moore have become even closer friends. "She's five minutes away ... I knew her a little bit before, and now it's like, I go over to her house with my kids, and she's like a mother hen. She has all her daughters and her grandchildren ... little chickens around. It's so cozy," Larter said on an episode of "Today."

Moore has noted that the entire cast, including Larter, are a tight-knit unit, which she thinks aids in the success of the show. In a 2025 interview with Collider, Moore said, "I think part of what translates on the screen is the actual honesty of how genuine the joy is that we all have of being with one another. We all truly enjoy going and doing things together in our personal time and hanging out in between setups, which I think really does make a difference for ... the energy that comes through."

Jacob Lofland started as a child actor, and now he's in one of the most successful series of the past few years. Lofland — best known prior to his time in "Landman" for "Mud," the "Maze Runner" series, and "Joker: Folie a Deux" — plays Cooper Norris on the hit Taylor Sheridan Western. Cooper is the son of Angela Norris, played by Ali Larter, which has given Lofland and Larter plenty of time acting across each other. In a 2025 interview with "The Screen Chatter," the interviewer noted how talented Larter is as an actor, and Lofland agreed. "She's incredible. She is absolutely incredible ... It's really hard. There's a few times this season that I would just be sitting there and just like, 'Oh, I've gotta do something.' I just get so mesmerized. She's so good," Lofland said.

It's evident that the entire cast likes working with each other. In a 2024 interview with "Good Morning America," Larter said, "I get to work with an incredible cast and the entire crew is so gifted and talented that I just feel like I'm playing at the top of the game and so that's really exciting."

Before "Landman," actor Mustafa Speaks landed major roles on shows like "All American," "Seven Seconds," and "Joe Pickett," and he popped up on episodes of hits like "True Detective," "S.W.A.T.," and "NCIS." On "Landman," he plays Boss, a crew chief in the oil field who forms a close bond with Jacob Lofland's character, Cooper Norris. "I liked that Boss was a protector and a nurturer ... As I got to learn more about the project and [Boss], I knew that I'd be able to play Boss in a way that elevates the story overall," Speaks told Decider in 2024 of his role on the show.

As much as he enjoys digging into the character of Boss, Speaks has said that he wishes his character and Ali Larter's character were in scenes together. When Larter came up in the aforementioned interview with "The Screen Chatter," Speaks admitted he envies Lofland because he gets to act with Larter on a regular basis. "I'm jealous because I haven't had a chance to work with her," Speaks said. Only time will tell if Angela and Boss' "Landman" paths will ever cross.

"Landman" actor Kayla Wallace is a familiar face in the Western show world. She is a Hallmark favorite thanks to her work on "When Calls the Heart," as well as some Christmas movies that premiered on the network. She was also featured in the movies "Wingman" and "Heatwave" ahead of her time playing Rebecca Falcone on the Paramount+ hit series.

In a 2025 interview with Next magazine, Wallace noted that "Landman" has given her the opportunity to work with Hollywood icons like Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, and Sam Elliott, and she certainly has not taken it for granted. "I'm always inspired working with anyone in our cast," she said. "There's an episode in Season 2 ... I stopped and looked around the green room ... It was one of those pinch-me moments with these legends just sitting around and chatting in between takes," she added.

Oh, but the list of Tinseltown powerhouses doesn't stop there. Wallace also shares the screen with industry veteran Ali Larter. Though their characters don't overlap frequently, Wallace and Larter have filmed some scenes together. And it seems safe to say the two actors enjoyed teaming up for those scenes. "They say opposites attract for a reason. Rebecca and Angela couldn't be more different, from their clothes to the way they talk. They are both incredibly powerful women, but in completely different ways. However, they have more in common than they think. It was so much fun working with Ali [Larter]," Wallace said to Decider in 2024 of her and Larter's characters.

Prior to joining the cast, "Landman" star Paulina Chávez was best known for starring in the series "Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love" and being part of the show "Fate: The Winx Saga." Now Chávez is gaining notoriety as Ariana Medina, a young widow and mother who forms a close bond with Cooper Norris, played by Jacob Lofland. With her storyline, Chávez hasn't shared much screentime with Ali Larter, but Chávez has been complimentary of the entire group of people working to make the show. "The cast and crew are incredible. It was so refreshing to come back and work with amazing people. There are always nerves going into a job, but as soon as I was on set again, it felt like home. We were so happy to be working with one another again and eagerly awaiting new scripts," Chávez told Cherry Picks in 2025.

Chávez and Larter could share more screentime in the future, though. The two were in more scenes together in the second season than the first, and given Chávez's character's relationship with Lofland's character, it seems likely that the trend of Larter and Chávez on screen at the same time will continue upward. And Chávez seems game for that. "There's just something so powerful about all of us being in the same room together and reacting off of each other. It was so much fun. I loved it," she told UPI in 2026 of working with the actors who play the members of the Norris family.

Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, and Sam Elliott aren't the only heavyweights on the cast of "Landman." The cast also includes Oscar-nominated actor Andy Garcia, whose storied career includes projects like "Ocean's Eleven" and its sequels, "The Godfather Part III," and "Passengers." In "Landman," Garcia plays Gallino, a wealthy and powerful cartel leader. In a 2025 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ali Larter noted what a pleasure it's been to act alongside Garcia. "Getting to work with Andy Garcia, another icon; he's incredibly charismatic on screen. So suave. He brings so much to Gallino and these complexities. All these actors and characters are so unique. It's really exciting to be part of a show that has space for that much depth," she said.

Garcia hasn't spoken much about Larter specifically, but he has been complimentary of the cast as a whole. In an interview with Variety, Garica said of his "Landman" co-stars, "We kind of look after each other. There's an old saying in film, 'The most important part of the work is the work you do off camera in support of your fellow actor.' That's the kind of cast that we have. It's a very supportive, generous cast. It's all about the work. There's no ego." While Garcia and Larter have shared the screen some on "Landman," it would be entertaining to see their characters interact more in coming seasons.