Terry Zwigoff’s Bad Santa is arguably the most cynical, irreverent, and foul-mouthed Christmas movie ever made—so wild and profane that even gory holiday horror flicks pale in comparison. It’s the one film parents with young kids lock their TVs to ban instantly during the holidays. Yet, it’s also hilariously funny, brutally honest, and surprisingly poignant—a true classic!
Two key elements make it so: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa’s bold screenplay and Billy Bob Thornton’s portrayal of Willie, a repulsive, shocking, and self-centered character. Willie, an alcoholic lowlife criminal who dons a Santa suit to rob malls each year, is brought to life by Thornton in a way that somehow unearths his heart. Despite all his deplorable and self-destructive tendencies, Thornton makes Willie not only likable but also deeply relatable. By the film’s end, Willie—having endured everything from physical and emotional abuse to jail time—transforms into such a sympathetic underdog that his survival feels like a miracle!
This is the crucial point: Willie can withstand an overwhelming barrage of blows (both literal and metaphorical) without breaking and rises every time, no matter how hard the hit. As Rocky Balboa famously said, “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” Thornton portrays this miserable, pathetic man as someone who miraculously always gets back up, so masterfully that it caught the attention of Taylor Sheridan and stuck with him ever since. It’s no surprise that Sheridan wrote Landman with Thornton in mind as Tommy Norris, drawing parallels to Willie’s resilience in Bad Santa.
The Common Thread Between Tommy Norris and Willie: Unbreakable Resilience!
Zwigoff’s film and Sheridan’s series couldn’t be more different on the surface, but Thornton’s intensity and charisma in both roles make them truly memorable and extraordinary. Norris is a tough, commanding figure, while Willie is a weak-willed, sad alcoholic—yet both are remarkably resilient in their own ways. This stems naturally from Thornton’s magnetism and boldness as an actor, something Sheridan recognized and embraced early on.
In an interview with Deadline, writer-creator Sheridan explained why Thornton was the perfect choice for Landman’s lead: “Well, he’s from that world, isn’t he? Maybe not the oil world, but rural America. His family’s from Texas. He feels authentic to that place. There’s a toughness, a fearlessness in him as an actor that gives his words real weight. You feel like he’s someone who’ll never back down. There’s this line from Bad Santa that stuck with me: ‘I’m really good in a fight because I’m not afraid to get hit.’ That’s a perfect embodiment of Tommy in Landman, isn’t it? He’s a fighter—not necessarily because he’s great at fighting, but because he’s so resilient and unafraid of taking hits.”
If you’ve watched Landman’s first season, you can’t argue with that. Whether it’s drug cartels, ruthless lawyers, ex-wives, or oil billionaires coming at Tommy, he always finds a way to push through. He’s like a cowboy-hat-wearing cockroach you can’t kill, no matter how hard you try. This kind of resilience is a natural part of Thornton’s acting repertoire (seen in Landman, Bad Santa, the first season of Fargo, or Goliath), making him a captivating actor when given the right material. Sheridan’s latest Paramount+ hit and Zwigoff’s classic are undoubtedly two of the finest examples!
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