‘I Was Really Trying to Hold Back the Tears’: Billy Bob Thornton Describes Most Emotional Scene From Landman Season 2 Episode 2

Warning: Spoilers ahead Compatriot Season 2, Episode 2 is coming soon.

As if Tommy’s (Billy Bob Thornton) life couldn’t get any worse compatriot, Season 2 has started. The season premiere of the Paramount+ show was in full swing when Cami (Demi Moore) officially took control of M-Tex following the death of her husband Monty (Jon Hamm).

In addition to his exciting professional life, Tommy has to take care of his wife Angela (Ali Larter) and daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) at home. When Ainsley is about to attend Texas Christian University, Angela throws away the expensive dinner she spent all day preparing for him, including his plate.

IN Compatriot Season 2, Episode 2: The couple are arrested for getting the elderly drunk while teaching exercise classes at a nursing home. But not all of Tommy’s relatives do it most deliberately.

Cooper (Jacob Lofland) earned an unexpected amount of money. After taking out a loan to buy an oil rig, his fortune literally struck gold. Every place he has chosen to drill has been “hit”; Simply put, it means they produce a lot of oil, which can make you millions.

Only two problems stand in the way: Cooper has unwittingly asked Tommy’s nemesis Galino (Andy García) for a loan, and his girlfriend Ariana (Paulina Chávez) leaves him as a result.

All of this is incredibly complicated, but it led to one of the most unexpected emotional moments in Landman history. I had the opportunity to ask Billy Bob Thornton to take a look behind the scenes… and he did.

“I could hardly hold back the tears” when Cooper told Tommy he loved him, says Billy Bob Thornton

Landman Season 2 Official Trailer | Paramount+ – YouTube

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On his way to his ex-dad TL (Sam Elliot) and the funeral home responsible for his mother’s death, Tommy takes a detour through Cooper after his son calls for help. The two then travel to TL together and have a personal conversation in the truck.

Tommy’s reunion with TL after so long shakes him up and shows Cooper how hard it is to break the cycle of abuse as a parent. “The kind of father you have is the child you raise,” Tommy tells Cooper as a warning about helping raise Ariana’s baby.

In response, Cooper tells his father that he loves him, adding, “You did your best and that’s enough for me.” Tommy subtly tries to hold back his tears, and it turns out those tears were completely real.

“It means a lot right now,” Thornton said. “Jacob and I don’t really talk about it. That’s usually how it is on this set. We just let things happen naturally. The script basically said I was trying to hold back the tears. I thought: Normally you say in the subtitles, ‘Well, I’m not going to do that.’ If I’m not sad, I’m not going to do it.

“But I could push them away enough to not turn into a whiny idiot, so it was very easy to do. Jacob grew up an hour and a half from where I live in Arkansas, and the boy and I have a lot of similarities growing up. During the show, I really feel like he’s a son to me.”

When you look at the scene, you can really see it. I was blown away on the other side of the small screen and I really think this marks a turning point in Cooper and Tommy’s relationship. They will have to face Galino together, but hopefully Tommy will start to take Cooper’s instincts, intuition and natural ability for the job more seriously.

I at least hope they love each other more openly, just like that.