Billy Bob Thornton believes politics may be behind Taylor Sheridan’s lack of awards recognition.
“I think a lot of it’s political. I really do,” the Landman star, 70, said in a recent interview with Variety. “I think some people assume Taylor is some sort of right-wing guy or something, and he’s really not.”
Sheridan, 55, is the creator of the blockbuster series Yellowstone, along with its prequels 1883 and 1923, and has built a dominant presence at Paramount+ with hit shows including Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, Lioness, and Landman.
Despite Sheridan’s massive success, his shows have historically been underrepresented at major awards ceremonies. Yellowstone received just one Emmy nomination—Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program in 2021—over the course of its five-season run.
Thornton, who stars in Landman as oil executive Tommy Norris, suggested that awards voters may misunderstand Sheridan’s work and its themes.
“Even with this show being about the oil business, he just shows you what it’s like. He’s not saying, ‘Rah, rah, rah for oil,’” Thornton said. “It’s about the people who work in this business or who are affected by it—the people on the periphery and within the families in the business. This is what happens.”
