Billy Bob Thornton said his new drama series Landman, about billionaires fuelling an oil boom which reshapes geopolitics, should be watched with “no agenda” after President-elect Donald Trump appointed Elon Musk in an advisory role.
The Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker stars in the Paramount+ series billed as a “modern-day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs”, set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas – alongside Hollywood actors Demi Moore, Ali Larter and Jon Hamm.
The plot of the 10-part series is said to be an “upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics”.
The Los Angeles premiere of the series at the Paramount Theatre came hours after Mr Trump announced Tesla and X owner Mr Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency.
Mr Trump confirmed in a statement that the department will not be a government agency, however Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance”.
Thornton, who played the US president in 2003 film Love Actually, told the PA news agency that Mr Musk’s appointment “doesn’t matter” because his new drama is “not really a politicised show”.
“I think people should watch it with no agenda, because we used to watch things with no agenda,” the 69-year-old told PA at the premiere.
“This is just a story that shows what happened, it’s not pro or con, it’s just the ins and outs, ups and downs, the good, the bad and the ugly of working within a business like this.
“It’s a very intense and dangerous business, and it’s about how it affects the people who work in it and so we’re just opening a window to show people stuff – it’s not really a political show necessarily.”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2024
Thornton, who won an Oscar in 1997 for writing thriller Sling Blade which he also starred in, said he felt “jealous” that filmmaker Taylor Sheridan had come up with the concept of Landman.
“It was one of those things, sometimes somebody writes something and you’re jealous that they wrote it and you didn’t, I kind of felt like that with this – he did an awesome job and we had an awesome cast,” Thornton, who plays protagonist Tommy Norris in the series, said.
“I loved playing this character, I really did, and I learned a lot. I knew a little about the oil business, but I learned much more about it.”
Thornton stars alongside Final Destination and Legally Blonde star Larter, who plays his on-screen wife Angela.
“What I love about the two of them is that they really see each other and they call each other out, and they love each other despite their flaws,” Larter told PA of the relationship between her and Thornton’s character’s.
“This is such a dream, to be able to work with this extraordinary cast,” the 48-year-old continued.
“Taylor prides himself with how he casts his shows, and you know the family dynamics with Billy and Michelle (Randolph) and Jacob (Lofland) is so special, and so that’s something that was really incredible to see play out.
“And Taylor’s writing is incredibly complex, and so to be able to play a character who is such a dynamo, but has emotional depth, is really exciting.”
Meanwhile Thornton also spoke about working with Moore, who plays Hamm’s on-screen wife Cami in the series, having starred alongside her in 1993’s Indecent Proposal.
“She was such a sweetheart way back,” he told PA.
“I had two scenes in a movie she was starring in… and Bruce (Willis) and I were always very close, and we did three movies together, and Demi would always bring the kids to the set.
“I watched her kids grow up, and she was as sweet to me the first day I met her as she is today.”
The first two episodes of Landman will premiere in the UK on November 18 on Paramount+.
