Billy Bob Thornton recently pulled off a two-on-one win. The actor was able to promote his new Paramount+ series, “Landman” while on tour with his band, the Boxmasters, in Texas in September. “I did a few things along the way,” he says. “Not many. There were a few phone interviews and then a few cities where they… I had a SAG screening where I would do a question and answer session the afternoon before the shows.”

During filming, Thornton and his wife Connie rented a house near Fort Worth and enjoyed reconnecting with all things Texas, as the actor spent time there before finding success in Los Angeles. Although he had an entertaining role as a hit man in a “Fargo” franchise, “Landman” marks the Oscar-winning actor’s first stint in a series since “Goliath,” and like his hard-nosed lawyer character in that series, Thornton is again at one point he portrays a man whose passion runs deep in his work. Only this time, he explains, his character works for the “company,” while legal eagle Billy McBride “brought the company down.”

The opportunity to work with Taylor Sheridan in a role written just for him was also too good to pass up.

Read more: From “Sling Blade” to “Goliath”: Billy Bob Thornton finds peace

“I did this cameo for Taylor in ‘1883,’” Thornton says. “We started talking and I liked his directing style.” We seem to have a good working relationship. So when they premiered “1883” in Las Vegas, I sat next to him at dinner afterwards and he said, “I’m writing a series for you called ‘Landman,’ and I’m going to write it in your voice.” “It’s in the world of the oil business in Texas,” and he explained to me the character, who was basically nice to me if I were a country guy.

“And I was very fascinated. Then when I read the first script or scripts, I thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s my voice!’ I think I can do that because I like playing roles that I’m not suited for, like French people and stuff, growing up in Arkansas and Texas, I have an affinity for that area and everything, so it all came together for just makes sense to me.

“I found that I knew a few things about the oil business, but I learned a few more things about it. Then we had Taylor and Christian Wallace who had the podcast. Christian was on set and when I needed technical information, he had it. An actor wants to know what he means when he says it, rather than just memorizing lines and saying them to himself.”

Wallace, a West Texas native with a master’s degree in writing from the University of Galway in Ireland, joined Texas Monthly, the Austin-based glossy magazine, in 2016 as a fact-checker. He wrote seven long-form cover stories, several of which were quickly picked up by Hollywood production companies. While some have since been dropped, fast forward a few years and Wallace is now co-writing Landman with Sheridan. The relationship began when Sheridan purchased the rights to Wallace’s hit podcast, “Boomtown,” about the great oil boom of the 21st century in the West Texas Basin.

“And I’m very grateful because the reason I’m sitting here talking to you as a co-creator of this show is because Taylor Sheridan made this happen for me. He didn’t have to bring me,” Wallace says, noting that the podcast purchase could have been the end of things. “Instead, we had conversations for two years about the story and the character and where we wanted to take this thing. And at some point he asked me to write a spec script based on our conversations.

Read more: How Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Yellowstone’ Franchise Could Solve a Big Problem for Paramount+

“I did that and a short time later he called me and said, ‘Well, mate, I think this will work.’ And so he decided to make me co-creator of the show and executive producer and bring me into the production process – I was involved in the casting – and really just paired me with his producing partner David Glasser, who was with me every step of the way .”

How has Wallace’s fancy new Hollywood career affected his personal life? Well, he bought a new pickup truck — but only after his 16-year-old was totaled in an accident. “If I wasn’t working on a Taylor Sheridan show I probably wouldn’t have done this, but I went and rented a brand new Toyota Tundra that was made in Texas and I love that thing so much. “I love driving it,” says Wallace. “Every time I get in, it’s a nice reminder that something has worked out for me so far.”

Get the Envelope newsletter, sent three times weekly during awards season, for exclusive coverage, insights and commentary.

This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.