SPOILER ALERT! This story contains details from the first season finale of Countryman on Paramount+.

The first season of Taylor Sheridan’s drama about the West Texas oil industry concluded on January 12th with a special appearance from a Hollywood bigwig and the promise that Tommy’s troubles with the cartel are far from over.

Here, star Billy Bob Thornton (Tommy Norris) talks about the latest addition to the cast, what we can expect from Demi Moore’s character in the future and whether he knows anything about a second season of the series. But first, Thornton had a few thoughts about the victims of the Los Angeles wildfires.

“My heart goes out to all the people suffering from these fires in Southern California right now,” Thornton told Deadline. “I lost our home, my family and myself when my oldest son was four months old in the Malibu fire in 1993. So I was there. I’ve lost everything. I just want to say I know what this feels like, no matter what part of the county it is in, and it is devastating.”

DEADLINE Andy Garcia was cast in May 2024 as a character named Galino, described at the time as “an extremely capable, powerful and practical man.” Ha!

BILLY BOB THORNTON It was really great working with Andy because he and I have known each other for years and it’s the first time we’ve worked together. It was nice to see the old veterans compete against each other in the final. Andy and I are similar in the way we think about acting, but Andy is a much fancier guy than me. In other words, he’s perfect for this guy and I’m perfect for the dirty oil guy who hardly ever changes his shirt. It was just very natural, very organic what we did there. And besides, he saved my ass in the end, didn’t he?

DEADLINE He definitely did. Tommy’s never met him, right?

THORNTON Right.

DEADLINE I assume Garcia will have a much larger role in Season 2?

THORNTON If there is a second season, God willing.

DEADLINE I want to ask about Jerry Jones’ speech at Monty’s bedside. That was fucking awesome.

THORNTON It was really great. Jerry actually grew up near where I live, just an hour and a half from where I live in Arkansas. We had never met before. It was truly amazing to meet him, a man who has built such an empire. Essentially, Jerry told his own true life story. It’s just like, ‘Okay, here we go.’ What happened, Jerry?’ And he told the story of his family and the cowboys and the whole thing. And when I was in the room where he was telling that story, I felt like I could have been with him in a bar or at his house or wherever while he was telling it because he obviously heard every word seriously meant. I know people he has told this story to before. I actually got a text from a friend of mine, a former NFL player, a very famous man, who said, “Jerry told me this story before.” He said it was just as moving the second time as it was the second time first time.

DEADLINE What did Tommy think when he first saw that coyote in his back yard?

THORNTON Well, I think Tommy is looking at the coyote and trying to figure out if that’s me or if that’s them. Tommy has a connection to this coyote in many ways. Like that lone wolf animal out there, that coyote, just running across the field and Tommy looks at him with a kinship, but then he gets killed right in front of his eyes. When Tommy goes out and looks the coyote in the eyes, he thinks, “Okay, I guess that’s me.” It could be me. Or is it?’ I think he’s trying to figure it out because the coyote doesn’t just walk by, they look into each other’s eyes and it’s almost like the coyote is trying to tell him something. That means stay away from it, or no, you have to do that. And I think it’s Tommy who’s trying to figure out his place in this whole mess.

DEADLINE I also liked the moment when Dale (James Jordan) picked Tommy up after his torture session and Dale asked him what he was thinking about in his mind.

THORNTON Yeah, it was right after the Andy Garcia thing and I’m pretty exhausted. We shot it in the middle of the night and I was completely exhausted. I mean, I was about to pass out, so there wasn’t much acting involved. And as I got in the truck, I think Tommy was thinking about how glad he was to be out of there, but man, are we in for something now because the big man is here?

DEADLINE We ​​obviously haven’t seen much of Demi Moore as Monty’s wife Cami this season. Do you know if we’ll see much more of her next season?

THORNTON I definitely think Demi will play a big role if there is a second season.

DEADLINE Whenever Angela (Ali Larter) calls Tommy in the car, you start cursing and freaking out. It’s always such a funny moment. Is this something you just improvised and turned into something?

THORNTON Oh no. That’s what Taylor wanted because every time she shows up she wants me to put on a clown costume and go to a party right when I’m in the middle of hell. I mean, she always calls when our son is in the hospital or something has exploded. I now have to drive 350 miles to solve this terrible problem. And then it’s like she says, “Hey baby.” And it’s like, are you kidding me? I actually have a few friends who call me ten times a day until they get to me when I’m filming or something. Every time you see the name you think: Come on, dude. Angela drives Tommy crazy in many ways, but I think he loves her very much. I think part of her is charming to Tommy. If it wasn’t like that, I don’t think he would take it.

DEADLINE If you were to do another season, has Taylor given you any indication of where it’s going to go?

THORNTON Not really. Taylor is keeping it pretty close to the vest until the time comes. OK. And when he knows it’s time, he’ll let me know. And when he tells me, he really tells me everything. It’s like when you’re cleaning, you want to get all the dust out of the corners before the family gets home. He really wants it to be where it needs to be before any of us find out about it.