Michelle RandolphSays Billy Bob Thornton Became a 'Dad Figure' onLandmanand She 'Clicked' with TV Mom Ali Larter (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Michelle Randolph as Ainsley Norris and Ali Larter as Angela Norris in ‘Landman’ (left): Michelle Randolph and Billy Bob Thornton in ‘Landman’ (right).Photo:Emerson Miller/Paramount+ (2)

Emerson Miller/Paramount+ (2)

BetweenBilly Bob ThorntonandAli Larter,Michelle Randolphreally lucked out when it came to her onscreen parents inLandman.

Randolph plays the 17-year-old wild child daughter of Thornton’s oilman Tommy Norris and Larter’s freewheeling Angela in the Taylor Sheridan series, and while she naturally dealt with some nerves before meeting her two costars, she tells PEOPLE they’ve both become role models for her — and pseudo-parental figures.

“I just had no idea what to expect,” she admits of her first time meeting Thornton, 69. “I had heard incredible things about him, and so I was excited to meet him, but obviously I’m like, ‘Okay, this is someone I’m going to share a lot of scenes with for a really important show. It’s something I care a lot about. I just hope that we have a good dynamic.'”

“And I was with Ali when I first met him, and it was just, immediately, he’s the kindest, most genuine human. We went to a dinner and after I left that dinner, I was like, ‘Okay, this is going to be great.'”

Randolph, 27, says she and the Oscar winner’s dynamic on-screen as father and daughter and their real-life relationship started to “melt into each other a bit,” to the point that Thornton “definitely is another dad figure for me.”

“Which is so cool,” she admits. “I’m sorry — that’s so cool.”

Michelle Randolph as Ainsley Norris, Ali Larter as Angela Norris, and Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris in ‘Landman’.Emerson Miller/Paramount

Emerson Miller/Paramount

Her bond with Larter, 48, is just as precious, though they fall a little in between a mother-daughter duo and a pair of best friends.

“And she lived two floors below me in where we were staying, and so it was like we lived together, we were playing, I’d see her every day. She’s just stuck with me,” she says. “Every day I got to be on set with her, it was like I wasn’t at work.”

Michelle Randolph as Ainsley Norris and Ali Larter as Angela Norris in episode 8 of ‘Landman’.Ryan Green/Paramount+

Ryan Green/Paramount+

The actress’ bond started to blur lines a bit, as Randolph says that Larter will often introduce her to people as “my daughter.”

“And people are like, ‘What?’ But she just feels like one of my great friends and obviously she’s been in the industry so much longer than I have, and she’s iconic, and so she gives me incredible advice,” she continues. “She’s really special to me.”

Jacob Lofland, who played Randolph’s aspiring oilman brother Cooper, is also a friend for life now, as she says the whole Norris family has stayed in touch remarkably well since filming concluded in the spring.

“Jacob Lofland, Ali, Billy — I talk to them at least a few times a week, which is really special. And I didn’t necessarily expect that.”

Michelle Randolph attends the “Landman” premiere at Paramount Studios on November 12, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.Jon Kopaloff/Getty

Jon Kopaloff/Getty

While she has no complaints, Randolph, who broke out on the scene in1923, was admittedly bummed not to overlap with some of the series’ other mega stars, likeJon HammandDemi Moore, during season 1.

“I’ve gotten to meet Demi a few times, but it’s interesting because when you are on completely different storylines, it’s like, yeah, you’re on the same show, but you’re not really interacting with these people,” she explains.

Calling both Moore, 62, and Hamm, 53, “lovely,” Randolph adds, “[I] have watched them my whole life… I’m trying not to be a fan girl. I’m going to play it cool. But they’re my favorite actors of all time, which is so cool.”

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Landmanseason 1 can be streamed in full on Paramount+.

source: people.com