Sam Elliott to Billy Bob Thornton: Meet the Actors in Multiple Taylor Sheridan Shows
See why the 'Yellowstone' creator keeps hiring these same stars again and again
Any Taylor Sheridan fan knows that the writer loves to use the same actors in a variety of his projects. Between Sam Elliott (who starred in 1883 and Landman) and Michelle Randolph (who starred in 1923 and Landman), it’s clear that he loves working with them almost as much as we love watching them on screen! To learn more about some of the actors who have starred in multiple Taylor Sheridan shows, keep scrolling!
Sam Elliott
Elliott, age 81, first starred in Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel 1883, back in 2021. He played Shea Brennan, a cowboy who helps the Duttons get from Texas to Montana. Then, in 2025, he joined the cast of Sheridan’s oil drama Landman to play T.L. Norris, father of Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton).
“I love Taylor’s work. We have this kind of shorthand and our minds work on the same level and mine’s very subservient to his. I get what he gets and he gets what I get,” Elliott told the entertainment website Gold Derby in November of 2025. “He’s the ultimate macho man and he transforms all that in a very pleasing way to the screen. He’s just so gifted and to have an opportunity to work with him again is pretty special.”
Billy Bob Thornton
Also starring in both 1883 and Landman? Billy Bob Thornton! In 1883, he played Marshal Jim Courtright for one episode, while in Landman, he became Tommy Norris, the show’s main character who loves smoking, drinking beer, driving and cursing.
“Well, it was great. Taylor wrote some wonderful scripts, and his writing is pretty tight, but Taylor has actually been very loose with me. There’s not a lot of improvisation on his stuff,” Thornton told Awards Radar in 2025. “With me, Taylor said, ‘Look, you’re a writer, you’re a director. You get this stuff. We’re partners in this.’ So, every now and then, I’ll throw something in there and if he likes it, he keeps it. But his writing is so good that I rarely do anything outside of it.”
Michelle Randolph
Michelle Randolph first appeared in the Yellowstone prequel, 1923. In it, she played Elizabeth Dutton, wife of Jack Dutton (Darren Mann). Then, she went on to star in Landman as Ainsley Norris, Tommy’s daughter, and fun fact: at one point, she was working on both shows at the same time!
“Honestly, Taylor Sheridan takes chances on actors, and he’s one of the few people in the industry who really does that and has given us this opportunity. And I just am eternally grateful for him,” Randolph told People magazine in April of 2025. “He made my dreams come true. I tell him that every time I see him.”
Danielle Vasinova
While not a main character, Danielle Vasinova did appear in Season 2 of 1923 as Ata Waipa, a Native American woman who experiences an unthinkable amount of torture, abuse and racism. Then, the actress also got cast as Kestrel Harris in Sheridan’s new show, The Madison, which aired in March of this year.
“I’m incredibly honored to join The Madison and bring Kestrel Harris to life,” Vasinova told Variety Australia in April of 2025. “Taylor Sheridan has created such a rich, immersive world, and I’m excited to explore this character’s journey within the Yellowstone universe.”
James Jordan
James Jordan might just be the actor who has worked with Sheridan the most. He appeared in Wind River as Pete Mickens, Yellowstone as Steve Hendon, Mayor of Kingstown as Ed, 1883 as Cookie, Lioness as Two Cups and Landman as Dale.
“When you get to work with a master storyteller like Taylor Sheridan, it just doesn’t get any better,” Jordan told Town and Country magazine earlier this year. “He really has the pulse of the culture right now. When he’s writing a story, it usually just clicks into place for me. I love the worlds and frontiers that he likes to explore and I fit into those worlds, for the most part.”
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