‘Landman’ Star Ali Larter Gushes Over Taylor Sheridan: ‘The Best Writer Working’
Landman has been a huge hit for Paramount+ right out of the gate, and series star Ali Larter attributes a lot of the show's appeal to creator Taylor Sheridan, whose writing she raves about.
Taste of Country spoke to Larter in advance of the Landman premiere in November, and she didn't hesitate when we asked what attracted her to the role of Angela Norris.
"I mean, Taylor Sheridan!" she exclaimed. "He's the best writer working."
"He's brilliant at the way he crafts his stories," she states, adding that she particularly enjoys "the way he tells and describes women."
"I love the characters he creates, because they're dynamic and powerful," Larter asserts. "But he also has space to show their vulnerable sides."
Larter's character of Angela Norris is the ex-wife of oil landman Tommy Norris, played by Billy Bob Thornton. She has remarried an older and much wealthier man, but the first four episodes make it clear that she is still pining for her ex, and it looks they might try to make another go of it, no matter ill-fated their relationship was in the past.
Larter has some really colorful scenes in the first few episodes as her character tries to remind Norris of everything that he's missing by not being with her. She says those traits helped attract her to the role.
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"She incredibly colorful. That's why I wanted to play her!" she exclaims. "She's fiery, and she fights for her family, and she loves to cause mischief. But she's also someone who loves very deeply. She feels everything 110 percent, so not only when she feels the joy — it's also moments when she feels the pain."
Larter says working directly with Billy Bob Thornton was "amazing."
"He's such a generous actor," she gushes. "It starts on the page, and then we worked on the characters, and were really trying to figure out who these people were, and he's just really generous. He was there to do my off-camera, and to have him as a sparring partner is such a gift, because he doesn't make a false move."
Landman airs via the Paramount+ streaming service every Sunday.
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Sterling Whitaker is a Senior Writer and Senior Editor for Taste of Country. He focuses on celebrity real estate, as well as coverage of Yellowstone and related shows like 1883 and 1923. He's interviewed cast members including Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, Sam Elliott and Harrison Ford, and Whitaker is also known for his in-depth interviews with country legends including Don Henley, Rodney Crowell, Trace Adkins, Ronnie Milsap, Ricky Skaggs and more.