Landman Cut A Scene That Revealed A Different Side Of Sam Elliott’s T.L. Norris – SlashFilm

Sam Elliott has become a regular fixture in Taylor Sheridan’s TV shows, with the veteran actor appearing in “1883” and “Landman” Season 2. The latter series sees him play T.L. Norris, the father of Billy Bob Thornton’s character, Tommy. Be that as it may, T.L.’s most heartwarming relationship is with Cheyenne (Francesca Xuereb), a stripper who becomes his physical therapist and transforms his life. Still, fans were robbed of the chance to see a sweet moment between them because the scene was deleted.

While speaking to Variety, Elliott recalled the now-deleted moment between his character and Cheyenne at the end of “Landman” Season 2. It happens after Tommy reveals that he and Cooper Norris (Jacob Lofland) will be running a brand-new oil company, and everyone close to them has a job. Tommy then makes a lewd joke about Cheyenne helping T.L. use a joystick since she’s used to handling them. It’s played for laughs, but Elliott revealed that this scene had a touching moment between T.L and Cheyenne. As he told it:

“Her line in response to that was ‘Hardy har har. And I said, ‘Yeah.’ And I know that you can’t see it, but at that moment, I reached out and took her hand for whatever reason. But you never see that. Colm [Feore] said it brought tears to his eyes when he saw me reach over there and take her hand, because he understood why I did it.”

If you watch the scene closely, you can see T.L. make his way over to Cheyenne straight after, but it quickly cuts back to Tommy’s speech. Still, keeping it in could have been effective in showing just how far Elliott’s character has come since he was first introduced on “Landman.”

T.L. Norris isn’t the happiest guy when we first meet him on “Landman.” He lives in a care home, grieving the loss of his late wife while regretting many of the years he spent with her. Sure, he possesses the type of dry wit we’ve come to associate with Sam Elliott’s best movie and TV show characters throughout the years, but he’s a mess.

Moving in with Tommy and his family gradually integrates T.L. back into the world of the living, and meeting Cheyenne relights his spark. Not only does she help him recover from his physical setbacks, but she offers real friendship, and it’s so wholesome (by Sheridan’s standards, anyway). The aforementioned “Landman” Season 2 scene sees T.L. in a good place, but including the deleted moment with Cheyenne could have further emphasized how important she’s been for him getting there.

Still, moments like this are why Taylor Sheridan loves working with Sam Elliott. The “Landman” creator has praised the actor for being able to create emotion so effortlessly, and it sounds like the deleted scene would have supported this thesis. Fortunately, “Landman” Season 3 is already confirmed, so viewers can look forward to seeing T.L. and Cheyenne’s dynamic continue to evolve.

You can stream “Landman” on Paramount+.