“THE MOMENT HE STEPS ON SET, I FELT SOMETHING I DIDN’T EXPECT”: Ali Larter Reveals the One Unscripted Detail About Sam Elliott That Left Her Shaken as She Gushes Over the ‘Masculine Cowboy With a Gentle Soul’ — Inside His Scene-Stealing Arrival on Landman Season 2, the Quiet Power He Brings as Billy Bob Thornton’s Onscreen Father, and Why Cast Members Say the 81-Year-Old Legend Is Already Changing the Heart — and Emotional Direction — of the Entire Show

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Ali Larter Gushes Over Sam Elliott in Landman: ‘The Masculine Cowboy’ (Exclusive)

Larter, 49, tells PEOPLE that Elliott, 81, is “a real sweetheart on the inside” and “just a legend”

Ali Larter, Sam Elliott, and Michelle Randolph
From left: Ali Larter, Sam Elliott and Michelle Randolph on the set of ‘Landman’ season 2.Credit : Ali Larter/Instagram

NEED TO KNOW

  • Sam Elliott joined the cast of Landman season 2 as the grieving father of Billy Bob Thornton
  • Ali Larter tells PEOPLE that Elliott, 81, is “a real kind of sweetheart on the inside” as she raves about having him on set
  • “He is such an incredible man, father, husband,” she says

There are simply no downsides to having Sam Elliott around on the Landman set, according to Ali Larter.

The actor, 81, joined season 2 of the hit Taylor Sheridan series as Billy Bob Thornton’s father, and, as Larter puts it, is “just a legend.”

“He is such an incredible man, father, husband,” Larter, 49, tells PEOPLE. She plays Angela, the reconciled ex-wife of Tommy (Thornton), and mom to their two kids, Cooper (Jacob Lofland) and Ainsley (Michelle Randolph).

Angela is also the person who’s responsible for T.L. (Elliott) leaving the retirement home he was living in to move in with their family — an idea that Tommy wasn’t exactly keen on initially.

“He comes on set, he still has just every bit of that growl in his voice, and he’s this masculine cowboy who’s just a real sweetheart on the inside.”

Ali Larter as Angela Norris and Sam Elliott as T.L. in Landman episode 6, season 2, streaming on Paramount+.
Ali Larter as Angela Norris and Sam Elliott as T.L. in ‘Landman’ season 2.Emerson Miller/Paramount+

The arrival of T.L. also brings a new appreciation from Tommy of his wife and his daughter, despite all their chaos.

“I love the scene in episode 5 where you see him in the house, and he doesn’t know what these girls are up to,” Larter says. “When Angela and Ainsley come home, he’s just sitting at the counter, he’s just there and he watches them — it’s like Taylor’s showing the audience how to think about Angela and Ainsley through T.L.’s eyes.”

“The way that [T.L.] sees us is so amazing because a lot of times, people even within the show are coming after her, commenting about me, or whatever,” Larter says of the controversial reactions her and Randolph’s characters have elicited. “It’s just always interesting when another character in the show sees us in a different way.”

“I love that TL loves us instead of [how] Tommy is always provoking her and getting frustrated with her,” she adds.

Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy, Sam Elliott as T.L., Ali Larter as Angela, Michelle Randolph as Ainsley, James Jordan as Dale and Colm Feore as Nathan in Landman episode 4, season 2, streaming on Paramount+.
Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy, Sam Elliott as T.L., Ali Larter as Angela, Michelle Randolph as Ainsley in ‘Landman’.Emerson Miller/Paramount+

Larter is not the first Landman star to rave about having Elliott join the cast. Kayla Wallace, who plays hotshot attorney Rebecca Falcone, told PEOPLE ahead of the season 2 premiere that Elliott “never leaves” the set and is “just happy to sit there and be a part of it and watch all of us perform.”

“Even if he’s not in a scene, he shows up early to set,” Wallace, 32, said. “He’ll find a place to sit — a bench, an apple box, whatever. He’s not fussy. It’s really cool.”

Landman season 2 is now streaming on Paramount+