Billy Bob Thornton said Texas embraced television creator Taylor Sheridan in ways Hollywood did not during the creator's early career struggles. In an interview with Town & Country about Sheridan, Thornton said, "Hollywood wasn't nice to Taylor. There's something about being an outsider that drives you."
Sheridan spent roughly two decades as a working actor in Los Angeles before pivoting to screenwriting. He said he had been homeless twice, including a six-month period when he slept in his car. After struggling as an actor on shows including Sons of Anarchy and Veronica Mars, Sheridan told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023 that he realized screenwriting was his path when his first pilot script attracted interest from major networks and agencies.
Once his early television projects, including Yellowstone, generated income, Sheridan returned to Texas, where he spent most of his childhood. He has since acquired more than 250,000 acres of ranchland, including the Four Sixes Ranch and Bosque Ranch. Thornton told Town & Country that the Texas ranching community accepted Sheridan completely because "he's not phoning it in. He doesn't go to the tourist cowboy shop and get an outfit. This is the real thing."
Sheridan now conducts much of his business from his Texas properties, inviting television cast members to the ranch for meetings rather than working from Los Angeles. The ranching life has also shaped his creative output. Sheridan previously told The Hollywood Reporter that Los Angeles offered him little new material, while Texas provided constant inspiration for dialogue and story ideas.
