Billy Bob Thornton is calling out award shows for seemingly snubbing Taylor Sheridan. Sheridan may be one of the hottest names in television after Yellowstone. But that hasn’t translated into award show gold.
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Thornton believes that he knows why.
“I think a lot of it’s political – I really do,” the actor, who stars in Sheridan’s Landman, told Variety. “I think some people assume Taylor is some sort of right-wing guy or something, and he’s really not.”
Sheridan’s flagship show earned only one Emmy nomination for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program during its five seasons on the air. Likewise, Thornton’s show hasn’t earned awards nods.
“Even with this show being about the oil business, he just shows you what it’s like. He’s not saying ‘Rah, rah, rah for oil,’” the actor explained. “It’s just the people who work in this business or who are affected by this business, the people on the periphery and within the families in the business; this is what happens.”
Billy Bob Thornton Speaks out
“These are the kinds of problems and joys and triumphs and whatever happens in this world,” Thornton continued. “It’s a world of gambling, and you never know what’s going to happen. But I think people got the wrong idea about that.”
Thornton says that despite the lack of awards, it doesn’t have anything to do with the quality.
“If you run the 100-meter dash in the Olympics and you break the tape first, you win. There’s no question about it. Everybody saw it,” he explained. “How do you say in the artistic world who won? It’s an intangible thing. Then people say, ‘Well, any one of the nominees besides me could have won this. They’re all wonderful actors.’ Not only them, some other actors in the audience who weren’t nominated, some other ones who aren’t even at the show, some other ones who aren’t even known by people have done an amazing job.”
He concluded, “If you put your heart and soul into something you love, and you’re satisfied with your work, and it works in the thing, there’s the award. I look at it that way. I’m too d–n old now to worry about stuff like that. I got enough awards. I’m good. I’m sure the people that I work for or work with me don’t like to hear that. But I guess when I said I’m too damn old, I guess I’m too damn old to not tell the truth.”