Apparently Taylor Sheridan is always on the lookout for potential actors and actresses to star in his shows. The Yellowstone creator and showrunner for countless other hits likes to do things a certain way. And hey, with Sheridan’s track record, and the belief that he’s one of the best in the business (if not the best), there’s clearly a method to his madness. He’s not much of an audition guy as much as he is hand selector.
Taylor Sheridan often writes parts with specific actors and actresses in mind. Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Hamm have both previously spoke on how relaxed and straightforward joining a Taylor Sheridan show is. Basically, you hear from Sheridan about a part, you meet with Sheridan, and then you work with him.
No nonsense.
Or in Guy Burnet’s case, you accidentally run into Taylor Sheridan at a boxing gym, you strike up a conversation without even realizing that it’s him, and then you later find out that you have been cast in one of his shows. Just goes to show that the creative mind of Taylor Sheridan never rests. Burnet, who was introduced as “Charlie” in Season 2 of Landman (Episodes 4 and 6, to be exact), landed his role in the Paramount+ hit show in a very unique way. He told Decider that he was working out in a gym and just so happened to cross paths with Sheridan… and the rest is history:
“Not in a conventional way whatsoever. I was taking a break and re-evaluating things, and I went to the boxing gym. While I was there, this very handsome, muscly, tanned man starts talking to me. We were, like, chatting away, and later, I learned that it was Taylor. The next day I got a message going, ‘Hey, listen, Taylor met you at the boxing gym, and he’s thinking of this character that he wants to develop.’ It didn’t feel real, and it still doesn’t, now that I’m telling you about it. I was very flattered, but I thought it was nonsense.”
It was not nonsense… it was the real deal.
Burnet, who was introduced into the show as the love interest of Rebecca Falcone (played by Kayla Wallace), went on to say that he and Taylor Sheridan ran into each other again only a couple of weeks after that, and Sheridan was already treating him like he was an official cast member:
“About a month later, I’m in New York, and we run into each other again. He’s like, “Oh, there he is. There’s my new employee.’ And I said, ‘What?’ He was like, ‘I guess no one has told you!’ He talked about ‘Landman’ — which I hadn’t seen at the time — and explained that my character was going to be an ‘Indiana Jones-type.’ And I liked the sound of that. And he goes, ‘You’re going to come down to Fort Worth and do it.’ I mean, there was no choice in the matter, which is kind of funny. You just do what he says. Then I watched the show and loved it, which made me even happier.”
Yeah that checks out.
Taylor Sheridan has a gift when it comes to hand-picking actors and actresses for his shows. And with his track record, those lucky, chosen few would be dumb not to take the opportunity. Burnet even said that he was in a part of his career where he wasn’t looking for anything, and Sheridan still found him:
“This opportunity came at a time when I had just said no to a bunch of stuff. I was trying to recalibrate and really think about what I wanted to do next. This role chose me in a sense. It was like magic, but that’s just what happens around Taylor. He as this mercurial element that is inexplicable.”
Sheridan certainly is a magic maker, and he pulled off quite the trick finding Guy Burnet in a gym on a whim. I’ve got a feeling that Charlie and Rebecca’s relationship is going to end up being quite pivotal to the storyline in Season 2.
