Rebecca Falcone is one of the most powerful characters on Landman — and to portray the legal representative effectively, Kayla Wallace had to do his research.
During an exclusive interview with Us WeeklyWallace, 31, longed to see real trials to get into the right space for his role in Taylor Sheridans drama series. “I was really interested in the interrogation and the manipulation of how litigants get what they need out of the interrogation itself,” the actress told Us. “I found it so fascinating. It’s a whole art in itself.”
Wallace didn’t just attend a trial in Fort Worth – where Landman was filmed — but she also looked to highly publicized trials on the Internet for inspiration.
“I saw some famous cases (and) celebrity trials,” Wallace said Usnotes that it included “both” The OJ Simpson trial in 1995 and The 2022 trial of Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard. She also saw again The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story: “That was super helpful.”
In episode 4, Rebecca proved her skill as a negotiator by demanding respect during a tense standoff with Tommy (Billy Bob Thornton). The dialogue-heavy scene featured Rebecca fiercely telling a sexist lawyer, “You think they hired me because I’m good-looking? I charge $900 an hour … and you’re about to learn why.”
Wallace admitted that the scene was “one of the biggest to tackle,” explaining, “I remember feeling like I was going to run a marathon at the end of the day.” In the end, she was proud of the result: “It was really wonderful to experience having to build that confidence for her and also for myself.”
For it When the Heart Calls alumstarring as Rebecca – “a powerful, strong, smart woman” – has been a dream. As it turns out, the role was made for her, with Sheridan recasting the character after watching Wallace’s audition for Ainsley, played by Michelle Randolph.
“I’m so honored that he saw whatever he saw in me and trusted me, almost at a time when I didn’t trust myself at first,” she said Us. She doesn’t take being part of Sheridan’s successful television empire lightly either: “We all just feel so lucky to have him at the helm of our ship.”
Working opposite Thornton, 69, was also a masterclass in acting. “It’s really inspiring to watch, and it makes filming a scene so exciting because he’s so in the moment,” Wallace explained. “He’s such a professional and so incredibly talented – I took a lot from him.”
In the season 1 finale, Rebecca faced a moral dilemma after she was asked to renegotiate a $175 million off-farm deal that would involve fracking. While there’s no word on a season 2 yet, Wallace hopes to continue bringing Rebecca’s story to life — and she already knows where she’d like to find the “incredibly smart and shrewd negotiator.”
“As they called out in Episode 9, she’s not an oil and gas person — she’s a litigator with almost zero knowledge in this area, so I’m excited to see her navigate (an area) that she doesn’t know much about,” Wallace told me Us. “I also want to see who she is at the end of a work day.”
“I’m ready for more,” she added. – I hope we get the chance.
