Yahoo Lifestyle ‘Landman’ Star Michelle Randolph On Playing Billy Bob Thornton’s Daughter & Entertaining The Old Folks With Her MILF Mom
Talk about being in the right place at the right time: Michelle Randolph was busy playing a Dutton bride-to-be Elizabeth Strafford in the Paramount+ drama 1923 when Creator Taylor Sheridan asked her to audition for Billy Bob Thornton’s daughter Ainsley Norris in Landman. Within 24 hours, she had the promise of a second job once the first season of the Yellowstone prequel was over.
That job turned out to be a breakout role for Randolph, who together with Ali Larter as her mom Angela, have provided a welcome amount of levity to an otherwise tense drama about the dangers of pumping oil in West Texas. Here, Randolph explains what it’s like to play a 17-year-old siren with a MILF for a mom and a dad who really doesn’t want to be his daughter’s best friend.
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DEADLINE When did Taylor Sheridan approach you about doing Landman?
MICHELLE RANDOLPH We were in the middle of 1923 and he called me to say, ‘there’s this project Landman, there’s this character Ainsley, and I want you for it, but there’s a catch. I need you to put 18 pages of dialogue on tape by tomorrow morning. And she has an accent.’ I was still in 1920s Elizabeth mode, but I locked myself in a room for the entire night and just studied. I tried to find the character but just let go of the accent. I was like, I’d rather not do an accent than do a bad one. So I put it on tape and then I booked it the next day. It was like an adrenaline rush. I think I found the character that first night. She’s morphed a little bit, but really the bones of her was there from my initial take on her.
DEADLINE How old is she supposed to be?
RANDOLPH She’s 17. I’m 10 years older. Honestly I didn’t think much of it because I think I do look young and I often get asked where my parents are — not all the time, but it does happen sometimes when I open my front door and they’re like, ‘are your parents home?’ I think it’s typical for actors in their mid-to-late twenties to audition for high schoolers like many of my friends do. I think what makes Ainsley a little different is the fact that she’s actually around her parents instead of being at high school.
DEADLINE So at what point did he say, by the way, I may need you to run around in a bikini now and then?
RANDOLPH That was never really discussed! It kind of just came with the role. I had the first two episodes when I signed onto the project. I had no idea what I was going to end up having to do.
DEADLINE It seemed at first like Ainsley was going to be a little one-dimensional, like a stereotypical blonde with means who has no problem attracting young men.
RANDOLPH When you start a show, it’s so hard, because you don’t know your full character. Knowing who she is in episode 10 was really hard when episode one was just coming out. I was like, that’s not all she has to do! But also, in general, we meet Ainsley and Angela at their most extreme, then we get to see them evolve. You don’t want to meet the fully evolved version of a character. If you don’t get to see the growth, then it’s not fun to watch. So I am thankful that we got to meet Ainsley at point A and hopefully by the time the show’s done, however many seasons, we’ll meet her at Z.
DEADLINE Why isn’t she back at school?
RANDOLPH She was supposed to go back to school but it was a mixture of things. She wants to know her dad more and wants to stay. She wasn’t happy where her mom and stepdad were. She wants her parents to get back together. And then there was the whole drama with the boyfriend. I think she’s just like, I need a fresh start. Something about my life isn’t right.
DEADLINE What’s it been like to work with Ali Larter? It seems like in every scene you two are having a blast.
RANDOLPH We are. I love working with her. It doesn’t feel like I’m at work. We just get along so well. Our scenes are energetic and fun and silly and there’s a lot of comedy. That’s the energy on set with her every day.
DEADLINE It seems like it’s your job and Ali’s is to keep things light when people are dying out in the patch.
RANDOLPH That’s life. There’s a scene when Billy Bob is in the hospital with Monty [Jon Hamm] and is having this very serious emotional moment. And then he calls Angela and Ainsley and we’re on the StairMasters working out and he’s like, ‘I love you.’ And we’re like, okay, we have no idea what’s going on. That’s typical of life. You don’t always know what is happening on the other end of the phone. That’s what’s special about the show.
DEADLINE How does Ainsley feel about her brother Cooper?
RANDOLPH I don’t know if there’s more of a backstory to it yet, but they definitely have a very extreme sibling relationship. They just do not understand each other. They are so opposite. I always joke with Jacob Lofland [who plays Cooper] that he’s always the one who starts it in the scenes. He’s the first one who says a dig, and then she just comes back at him. I’d love to find out if there’s more backstory as to why they don’t get along.
DEADLINE What was your reaction when you saw in the script that Ainsley and Angela were going to entertain old folks at a retirement home?
RANDOLPH I just wasn’t expecting it at all, but it’s a really special storyline. I think it just gave them a purpose in Midland and shows that there’s more to them than what the audience initially thinks. I love that Angela is so obsessed with her old folks. It’s her passion now. And you know what? Taylor’s wife volunteers at the old folks home where we actually shot. I went with her and played some games. That was cool to experience before filming those scenes.
DEADLINE Ainsley’s relationship with her father seems so genuine.
RANDOLPH I love their relationship. They just love each other so much, even though they don’t quite understand each other. I always say that Ainsley is trying to be close to her dad. She’s using the same tactics that has gotten her close to her mom. She’s like, you’re my best friend. I’m going to tell you everything. And Tommy has to teach her no, that’s not how father and daughter relationships work. You don’t need to tell me the things you tell your mom necessarily! But I do love that he’s the grounding force in her life. She doesn’t have that from anyone but him. And working with Billy, I mean he is that to me. He’s just this calming presence on set in person. He’s just genuine and I’ve learned a lot from him on set and in life.
DEADLINE Where were you shooting all the scenes with the house?
RANDOLPH We were in Fort Worth for five months, and then we shot two or three days in Midland.
DEADLINE Would you able to tease a little bit what we can expect from your character Elizabeth in the new season of 1923?
RANDOLPH She is a Dutton. In season one, she wasn’t, and she became one. In season two, we get to see her just come into her own and find her strength and find where the Dutton lies within her.
DEADLINE One last thing — I was surprised at how much I’ve learned about pumping oil from this show. Thanks, Taylor! Has it been the same for you?
RANDOLPH When I was prepping for the show, I was like, ‘okay, I need to know everything about the oil industry. It’s a show about oil.’ And then when I was reading the script, I realized, okay, I actually don’t need to know anything about oil. But I do know more about it now than I ever thought I would.
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