NEED TO KNOW
Jacob Lofland already felt pretty lucky having Billy Bob Thornton play his dad on Landman. Having Sam Elliott join for season 2 as his grandfather is even more surreal.
Elliott, 81, plays T.L. in season 2, and made his entrance in the Nov. 16 premiere episode, where fans learned that he’s in an assisted living facility in Texas and that his wife, Dorothy, who is also Tommy’s (Thornton) mom, died.
On Nov. 23, fans got to see Elliott and Thornton onscreen together for the first time, as Tommy drove to see his father following the news of Dorothy’s death. Lofland’s Cooper — Tommy’s son and T.L.’s grandson — came along, too, and the cracks within the family were on display as he revealed he’d never met his grandmother, nor did he seem to have much of a relationship with T.L. either.
Lofland tells PEOPLE that it was “hard to act” during his first scene with the two veteran actors. “Honestly, the first take, I think I had just the most dumbfounded look on my face. I probably was not Cooper.”
“I was just sitting, watching these two legends do some amazing things in front of me. And it’s so good, it took me out of [the scene]. It took me to [the shoes of] an audience member, and then I realized, ‘Oh, I got to say something. Hold on.'”
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“There’s a thing in the air when those guys are around and working,” Lofland says of Thornton and Elliott. “It’s amazing.”
Lofland’s costar, Paulina Chávez, who plays Cooper’s love interest Ariana, seconds that thought. “I’m not going to spoil anything, but just seeing the three of them on screen together is so beautiful and so cool,” she tells PEOPLE.
For the Arkansas native, working with Thornton was already pinch-me enough. “If we didn’t think it was cool enough — let’s bring more legends!” he says of Elliott joining.
While he says he’s managed to rein in how excited he is to be in Elliott’s presence, the same cannot be said of Thornton. “I’ve done really well with Sam. I spent enough time with Billy that I’ve let it in and I’m like, ‘Hey, look, I can’t lie. I absolutely love you. I’ve looked up to you for so long.'”
Thornton is a great sport about it. “He’s so good and humble about it, but loves answering questions about his jobs and help us, gives us pointers. It’s awesome.”
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Emerson Miller/Paramount+
Reflecting on the massive success the series has had since its premiere last year, Lofland says, “We pinch ourselves every day.”
“Going in, we knew it was going to be great. We knew there was a great cast, Billy Bob and Jon [Hamm]. Everyone we had last year was star-studded. But I don’t think any of us had any idea that it was going to catch [on] like it did and take off the way it did.”
New episodes of Landman season 2 premiere Sundays on Paramount+
