Landman’s Ali Larter Would’ve Felt Kelly Reilly’s Pain In Yellowstone After Taylor Sheridan Pushed Her to Emotional Extreme

Yellowstone’s creator, Taylor Sheridan, along with Christian Wallace created a drama series, Landman, which stars Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, Ali Larter, and more. The story follows Tommy Norris, a landman who negotiates lease deals for M-Tex Oil in Texas. Wallace reportedly based the series on a podcast, Boomtown, he hosts.

The series debuted on Paramount+ with two episodes, with the following eight episodes dropping weekly through January 12, 2025. Upon the release of two episodes, the series received positive reviews from the critics as well as the audience. Actress Ali Larter talks about her experience working on the show, and somehow, fans are reminded of Kelly Reilly from Yellowstone.

Ali Larter reveals she had to fight for her role in Taylor Sheridan’s Landman

Actress Ali Larter is recognized for her work in the Final Destination franchise from 2000-2003, which established her as a scream queen. She has played supporting roles in Legally Blonde, A Lot Like Love, and more. She portrays Angela Norris, Tommy Norris’ ex-wife on Landman. Norris is played by Billy Bob Thornton.

During her interview with Collider, the actress was asked how much she knew about her character’s arc when she signed up for the role. She said,

For me, I had to audition for this role, and I had to screen-test 19 pages for him [Taylor Sheridan]. It was terrifying, and it was so hard, but from the first page that I read of Angela, I knew I wanted this. I just fought for her because I wanted the chance to be able to express this incredible woman.

Larter described her character of Angela as ‘sexy and fun and flirty, loving and alive.’ She added it was just so much fun to play her on-screen. The actress complimented the co-creators by stating that Sheridan does start writing for his actors and Wallace came in to help and make the story authentic. She also noted that once the actor gets on board with Sheridan, they just have to trust him, and she trusts him 100%.

During the conversation, the actress was asked about what sequence she found the toughest to pull off. She shared that for now it’s episode 5, Bolognese, and explained that it’s an eight-minute scene, describing it as extraordinary. She said,

We were able to live within this world where I am in the house, then I greet my son at the door, and I am making this elaborate dinner for everyone, and we have a table full of family.

Larter added that her character is trying so hard to bring her family back and show her love through her Bolognese and Italian night. The actress noted that the audience will see her breaking down in the kitchen and said that the emotional demands of the role were much harder than she had expected.

The talented actress mentioned during the conversation that it takes a lot of mental games to stay very calm and conserve one’s energy. She concluded that it was an emotional tornado she had to take.

Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly says she loves Beth Dutton but can’t live with her

Listening to Ali Larter talk about the emotional demands of the show, one name that pops up in everyone’s head is Kelly Reilly, who plays Beth Dutton on Taylor Sheridan’s successful show Yellowstone. She is one of the most beloved characters on the show. In an interview with Town and Country, she said,

I love gearing up to play her because there’s an adrenaline to Beth, and it’s very energizing. But it’s also incredibly gnarly. I have to hide all of me away to put some of that on. I love her, but I can’t live with her.

The actress noted that so much of acting is psychology, adding that it’s like a treasure hunt. While speaking to THR, the actress shared that Beth Dutton is in a very raw emotional phase, and there is nothing like vengeance that fuels her. It has been noted that Beth Dutton, despite being one of the strongest characters on the show, has had the roughest journey.

In the second season, when the Beck brothers sent a group of men to her office at Schwartz & Meyer to ‘put the fear of God in her’, she was tortured until Rip came to her rescue. Throughout the entire fourth season and some part of fifth, the actress’ character wears the marks of her near-death experience after a mysterious package blows up her assistant and decimates her office.

In season 4, her relationship with Rip, from tying the knot to being a surrogate mother to Carter, allowed Beth Dutton to overcome some of her emotional trauma from her youth. Reilly says it’s the emotional scars that take longer to heal.

Yellowstone is streaming on Peacock. Landman is streaming on Paramount+.