Billy Bob Thornton knew that the role of an oil company’s crisis management specialist in “Landman” would never be a great job.

Thornton, 69, takes on the role of foul-mouthed Big Oil fixer Tommy Norris in the Paramount+ series from executive producers Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, based on Wallace’s 2020 “Boomtown” podcast, which explores the impact of the historic oil boom in West Texas recorded. Getting into the character means more than covering your hands in crude oil, and it shows.

“I look older in ‘Landman’ than I do in real life,” says Thornton, whose Norris contrasts with his fashionable ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter). “Tommy hardly combs his hair and never shaves. He always has dirt on his hands and face.”