Taylor Sheridan is known for drawing in massive stars for his original shows, and there are four actors who worked with him before returning to star in Landman. The cast of Landman was filled with talented and acclaimed actors, like Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Hamm, Demi Moore, and more. Along with some new names to the long list of Taylor Sheridan’s shows, some of Sheridan’s favorite recurring actors also had a part in Landman. Four of them had appeared in one of Sheridan’s shows before Landman, and one of them also made it into one of his movies.
Landman is one of Taylor Sheridan’s most unique shows, which also let it recast many of the actors he’s worked with in the past. Landman is one of only four shows Sheridan has created that doesn’t have any connection to Yellowstone or the Dutton family, which meant he could cast actors as entirely new characters without creating any contradictions. That opened the door to these four actors getting another shot at starring in a Taylor Sheridan show, and the decision turned out to be for the best.
4 Michelle Randolph
Michelle Randolph is one of the few actors Taylor Sheridan has called upon who has been a major part of the casts of both her shows. Randolph played Ainsley Norris, Tommy’s daughter, in Landman, and she also played Elizabeth Strafford, Jack Dutton’s (Darren Mann) love interest, in 1923. Randolph’s characters are also so different from one another – Ainsley is interested only in finding a boyfriend who will be in the NFL while Elizabeth is committed to learning how to tend to the ranch – that they highlight her range as an actress.
3 Robyn Lively
Robyn Lively only recently joined the list of actors who appear in multiple of Taylor Sheridan’s shows. Lively plays Ellie, the waitress at the Patch Café, in Landman, but she also appeared in an episode of Lioness season 2 as Senator Albright. While Lively hasn’t had a leading role in either of the Taylor Sheridan shows she’s appeared in, her budding relationship with the writer is a good sign for the future. There’s even a chance she could star in one of Sheridan’s upcoming shows or movies.
Stunt performer Brian Brown has also done stunts for most of Taylor Sheridan’s shows, including 1923, Landman, Lioness, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Tulsa King, 1883, and Yellowstone. Brown has not, however, portrayed a named character in any of those shows.
2 James Jordan
James Jordan is Taylor Sheridan’s most frequent collaborator, so it wasn’t much of a shock to see him in Landman. Prior to playing Dale Bradley in Landman, Jordan played Livestock Agent Steve Hendon in Yellowstone, wagon train cook Cookie in 1883, QRF member Two Cups in Lioness, and officer Ed in Mayor of Kingstown. Landman was actually special for Jordan, too, as it redeemed Jordan’s annoying Yellowstone and 1883 characters by making Dale more likable.
While James Jordan made his first appearance in one of Taylor Sheridan’s shows during Yellowstone season 2, that actually wasn’t the first time he had worked with the writer. Jordan also played the villainous and cowardly Pete Mickens in Wind River, one of Taylor Sheridan’s best movies. Wind River came out a full two years before Yellowstone debuted, and it also gave Jordan a chance to work with three different notable stars in Sheridan’s works: Jeremy Renner (Mayor of Kingstown), Kelsey Asbille, and Gil Birmingham (Yellowstone), along with several other actors who crop up in Sheridan’s shows.
1 Billy Bob Thornton
Landman is certainly Billy Bob Thornton’s most notable collaboration with Taylor Sheridan, but it surprisingly wasn’t his first. Before playing Tommy Norris, Thornton played Marshal Jim Courtright in 1883. Courtright had a very small role in 1883, as he only had a single conversation with Sam Elliott’s Shea Brennan before the wagon train set out on its journey, but Thornton took on the cameo role nonetheless. He also sported a bushy goatee and traditional Old West garb, so viewers can be forgiven for not realizing or remembering that he was in the Yellowstone prequel.
Billy Bob Thornton’s role in Landman is also unique because he was the first major movie star to enter Sheridan’s filmography with a cameo role before leading his own show. Most of the other leading A-list actors in Sheridan’s shows – like Zoe Saldaña, Sylvester Stallone, or Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren – have only appeared as the stars of their respective projects. Thornton, however, took a smaller role long before he got the top spot in Landman.
