Billy Bob Thornton is putting his trust into Taylor Sheridan, regardless of where his career goes.
The prolific Yellowstone creator made headlines last month when it was reported that he would be leaving his longtime base of Paramount in favor of NBCUniversal, for a film deal set to kick in next year, and a series deal expected to start once his contract with Paramount is up in 2028.
News of the deal, which could reportedly estimate up to $1 billion, came just as the second season of Landman arrived at Paramount, and its lead star Billy is weighing in on what the future of the Sheridanverse looks like, including for Landman and himself.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter at the season two premiere, Billy, who plays oil crisis manager Tommy Norris in Landman, first shared: "I think the shows that are at Paramount, stay at Paramount, so I don't think those are affected," noting: "His deal is for the future."
"Who knows what that holds," he added, maintaining: "Taylor is a brilliant guy, and I'm sure wherever he goes, whatever he does is gonna be successful, at least I know it'll be real."
Billy, 70, maintained his faith in Taylor partly by signing a four-to-five year contract for Landman. Asked by THR on a separate, more recent occasion whether he hopes to work on Landman for "the next decade," he confirmed: "Well, yes, absolutely. As long as I'm able, I want to do it. Or, until the story runs out."
"When I did [Amazon's] Goliath, where I played a lawyer, I signed up for four years," he went on to recall, adding: "And after those four years, we were satisfied. Sometimes people can go a bridge too far. There are certain shows that have been on for 12, 14, 17 seasons. After a while, it's like, 'OK, we get it. But what are you going to come up with next?'"
"You either have to do something ridiculous or repeat stuff you've already been doing. So I think Landman, as an entity, we'll know when it's over," he maintained.
Also opening up about what it was like coming back for a second season, and gearing up for it, Billy said during the premiere: "Anytime you have a success and it's going to continue, there's always pressure to make sure that it continues. If you're making movies, you do a sequel, there's always pressure," adding: "So, we felt it, but once you start, you just have to forget that and go out there and do your job."
Still, he later further shared: "It only gets better for me, as an actor, as a person, everything about it. Everybody knows each other now. We have the best crew I've ever worked with in all these years," noting that there is also ease to coming back for a second season.
"Every day is a joy. Every script is, like Sam [Elliott] said, a gift. With the first season, you had to set everything up — explain the oil business and introduce the characters to show, 'Here are the people involved.' This season, you can get really personal," he gushed.
He continued: "All of a sudden, you learn where these people came from, what they're all about, what their goals are. You get to see a lot more of the relationships between the family, and more of the executive branch of the oil business and people you have to deal with sometimes, like Andy Garcia's character. It's a very emotional, very humorous, amazing season."