Tommy & Angela: How Landman's Ali Larter And Billy Bob Thornton Get Along In Real Life

Tommy and Angela Norris' explosive relationship on "Landman" is characterized as strongly by the former husband and wife's constant bickering as it is by their genuine affection for each other. Behind the scenes, Billy Bob Thornton and Ali Larter share similar dynamics, though their real-life friendship is much less flammable. Thornton and Larter met just days before filming kicked off, but they forged a connection pretty easily. "Ali and I had chemistry immediately, just naturally. ... She's just so fun," Thornton said on "CBS Mornings" in January 2026.

Larter was immediately drawn to Thornton's desire to elevate Tommy and Angela's relationship. "He's like, 'Relationships are so messy. Let's find all the things between us that we can put into this work,'" she said on "The Drew Barrymore Show" in January 2026. Ultimately, their mutual passion for the project is what makes their relationship feel so real. "When you have that level of respect, that's where chemistry comes from," she said on "CBS Mornings."

However, Thornton joked his relationship with Larter does mirror Tommy and Angela's in some ways. "We're kind of like we are in the show in real life; she drags me around by the ear," he laughed. While the "Landman" stars certainly live lavish lives, they differ on what defines it. While she dresses to impress, he looks like he just rolled out of bed. While she prefers fine dining, he prefers diners and dive bars. "She's like, 'Babe, listen, you're No. 1 on the call sheet. I am not letting you go in that dump again,'" Thornton joked on "CBS Sunday Morning" in 2025. Through the show, Thornton and Larter found a true friendship that goes beyond what we see on the screen. 

While "Landman" became one of the most-watched TV shows of 2025 and 2026 and marked an impressive career comeback for Billy Bob Thornton, not every viewer is a fan of the show's female characters, including Angela Norris and the daughter she shares with Tommy, Ainsley Norris. Ainsley is played by Michelle Randolph, who has become friends with Ali Larter. For some fans of the show, the Norris women are overplayed and unrelatable. "I don't enjoy the dumb blonde Texas trope," a Reddit user argued. Others had a similar opinion. "Its too over the top this season," a second netizen defended.  But Thornton disagrees.

As a Southerner, he believes creator Taylor Sheridan nailed Larter's character, and she nailed the portrayal. "Some of [the critics] mentioned the women and how Ali's character may be a little cartoonish or whatever. And I got to tell you, I was raised down there in Arkansas and Texas, and women like Ali exist," he told Deadline in 2024. The criticism of Angela only heightened from there, prompting Thornton to defend the character over and over. "You ever been to Dallas? Just go down there and believe me, Ali is on every other corner," he said again in a 2025 interview with Deadline.

For her part, Larter interprets her character's role on the show as necessary relief to the drama and tension. Besides, Angela is someone who doesn't care what other people think, so she sees the criticism as a response to her feisty personality. "Taylor is a provocateur. He loves to write characters that make people respond, that initiate a reaction, a feeling," she told People in 2025.