Billy Bob Thornton on Why He Enjoys Time with ‘Landman’ Creator Taylor Sheridan (Exclusive)

Billy Bob Thornton is having an excellent time on landman —and it reveals.

The actor, who stars as Tommy Norris within the hit Taylor Sheridan sequence, tells PEOPLE that working on the present has been nothing wanting a dream, thanks largely to the tight-knit solid and crew and its shut bond with its creator.

“I trust this show a lot,” Thornton says whereas attending a particular landman screening and Q&A in Hollywood on Thursday, April 16. “I trust Taylor and I trust the castmates. I trust our crew. Honestly, I wish I had, like, a creepy story or a complaint, but I don’t. I mean, it’s just, it’s a lovely time.”

That sense of ease extends nicely past the set. “Yeah, oh, it’s great. I love working with Taylor,” Thornton says. “I love hanging out with him after hours. He’s such a brilliant guy, great writer, and I love his company.”

During the April 16 panel dialogue, Thornton emphasised simply how a lot he values ​​the individuals behind the scenes, calling the landman crew the perfect he is labored with in his decades-long career.

“I have to say in all my years, I have never worked with a crew as good as the crew that we have on landman ever, once,” he stated. “You can’t find a bad apple in the bunch… they really are lovely people.”

Despite the present’s success, Thornton stays grounded in his method to the position, even when moments from the sequence go viral. For instance, when his character described the hosts of The View as a “bunch of pissed off millionaires bitching about how much they hate millionaires”

“Yeah, anytime you say anything about anybody in the media, obviously, it’s going to be a big thing,” he tells PEOPLE on the purple carpet. “So I don’t know… they point me in a direction, and I do what I’m told and try to be myself.”

Part of what you do landman so compelling, Thornton explains, is the unpredictability, one thing he embraces as an actor.

“Taylor keeps it pretty close to the vest. He doesn’t really tell us until the last minute,” he shared on the panel. “Some actors like that, some actors don’t. I personally love it because in real life you don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

That thriller is strictly what fuels his early ideas on what’s to come back.

“I got a feeling season 3 is going to be a combination of season 1 and 2,” Thornton tells PEOPLE. “Where you’ll have the danger and the tension of season 1 with the sort of family craziness and the business side of season 2… I have a feeling that that’s what it’s gonna be.”

He’s fast to make clear, although, that it is only a guess, not insider information. “I promise you no one told me that,” he provides with amusing.

The actor additionally relishes the chance to share the display screen with longtime mates, together with Demi Moore and Sam Elliott.

“Demi and I go way back. I’ve known her a long time,” Thornton says. “And Sam and me and Andy and Demi all go way back. So it’s just a pleasure for us all to be together now and be able to be around each other a lot.”

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When Thornton first realized Elliott can be becoming a member of the sequence as his onscreen father, his response was emotional.

“Sam and I go way, way back. … and then Taylor called me one night … and when he told me it was Sam, I went to my wife, Connie. And I was literally crying when I told her … because I love this guy,” Thornton recalled through the panel.

As for whether or not followers can anticipate extra scenes between the 2? “Oh, I’m sure I will. Yeah, I love Sam,” Thornton says. “I mean, we’re like kinfolks almost.”

Earlier this 12 months, Thornton careworn that the sequence’ triumph was “a tribute” to Sheridan.

“He knows who to cast and for what part. He really does. Some writers write with their own voice for every character, but each person on this show is their own thing. I love that,” he advised Variety in February. “One of the most brilliant things Taylor’s done with his shows is he has very strong individual characters with their own voices.”

The first two seasons of landman are streaming on Paramount+.