“She's Just So Fun”: Billy Bob Thornton Pays Tribute to His ‘Landman’ Co-Star and On-Screen Ex-Wife, Ali Larter

Following the explosive Landman Season 2 finale, Billy Bob Thornton has appeared on CBS Mornings to pay a touching homage to his on-screen ex-wife, Ali Larter.

Thornton and Larter play the much-loved characters Tommy and Angela respectively, with the couple having been divorced for around a decade before we meet them at the start of Season 1. Nonetheless, they maintain a fascinating relationship, with Thornton and Larter bringing the exes’ various complexities, flaws and their rekindling love for one another to life throughout the two seasons.

When asked how they manage to convey such a sense of chemistry on Landman, Thornton quips, “It ain't hard”, adding, “Every now and then they'll throw an old goofball like me in there with a beauty. But no, Ali and I had chemistry immediately, just naturally, and we didn't know each other before. We met literally two or three days before we started filming the first season, and she's just so fun”.

The Landman star jokes that the duo's off-screen dynamic is similar to their fictional one, “We're kind of like we are in the show in real life, she drags me around by the ear”.

Larter echoes Thornton's sentiments, “We both work in a similar way, that we love what we do, and we also feel really grateful to be part of something where the writing is that special. So we do the work. Like, he does my face time on the other side, like, we are there for whatever anybody needs for the entire cast and crew - and when you have that level of respect, that's where chemistry comes from”.

As for the secret sauce that has made Landman into one of Paramount's biggest hits in recent years, Thornton credits Taylor Sheridan's raw storytelling and the relatability of the protagonists for the show's success, “All the characters are unabashedly who they are...One way or the other, every word that comes out of their mouth and everything they do is honest, at least in their own mind...A lot of times dramas are overly earnest - and that's all your get, is the drama. Comedies maybe sometimes don't have enough heart, and this one has a blend of all emotion, humour, drama, danger, absurdity. You know, it's got all the elements”.

Landman has been renewed for Season 3, with fans looking forward to seeing what plans Sheridan has in place for Tommy and Angela following the chaos of the Season 2 finale.

In the meantime, though, viewers have plenty of other neo-Western Sheridan-driven projects to enjoy, with two Yellowstone spin-offs - The Madison and Marshals - premiering in March 2026. A third, Dutton Ranch, starring Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser as fan-favourites Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler, has also been confirmed.

Watch Thornton and Larter's full interview on CBS Mornings below:

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