The cast of “Landman” knows that many actors claim their costars are family. But for the group of actors who came together for Taylor Sheridan’s drama, it’s the truth. Billy Bob Thornton, Sam Elliott, Ali Larter, Demi Moore and Andy Garcia open up about the collaboration for Variety‘s For the Love of the Craft: The Ensemble, presented by Paramount+.
“It’s an incredible group of people to be involved with on both sides of the camera. I’d had an experience with Taylor before in ‘1883,’ and that I think was one of the highlights of my 50-60-70-year career. This, on some level, is every bit as special as that was,” says Elliott, who portrays T.L. Norris. “I think it’s always a great gift when you have a relationship off-screen as well as on-screen. I’ve worked on projects over the years where that wasn’t so, and it’s not so much fun, and I’ve always been of the mind, if you can’t enjoy this business and you can’t have fun when you’re doing this, you’re doing it the wrong way.”
It also helps that when someone is done filming, “not everybody’s racing out,” says Moore, Instead, they stay and spend time together. Or, go to sing karaoke.
“I’m not into karaoke, but there’s a karaoke place in Fort Worth and a lot of the crew like to go out there and I used to go with them because it’s just such an amazing shit show when we all go out there and everybody kind of lets their hair down,” Thornton says. “You get to see your castmates and your coworkers and the crew let go, and I think that was a great bonding experience. We usually go there three or four times a season. You outdid yourself this time.”
The group collboration “the appeal of the show,” adds Elliot. “Everybody down the line is of equal importance in this thing, and they’re thought of on equal ground. We’re all there for each other all the time.”
Andy Garcia as Gallino and Demi Moore as Cami Miller
Emerson Miller/Paramount+
The actors also spoke about finding the unique tone of the series, something Sheridan is an expert at.
“It’s inherent in Taylor’s writing. The words are there. The dynamics of the scenes are there,” says Garcia. “As the great acting teacher, San Meisner said, ‘Live truthfully within imaginary circumstances.’”
Moore adds, “The humor all really works because it’s really grounded in heart. He knows just right when to bring that relief in.”
For Larter, when she began reading early scripts, she recognized how Sheridan was able to seamlessly mix the tones. “He knows when the audience is ready for a break or when they need a laugh or when we’re going to go into a deeper romance or you need an intimate scene to show the vulnerability within a character,” she says. “I’ve never been on a show like that where we flip so much, but it’s always grounded within who these characters are and what the relationships are.”
Watch the full video above.
Source: variety.com
