For Taylor Sheridan, the creator of “Yellowstone” and its many tributaries, the role of Billy Bob Thornton’s ex-wife in his new Texas oil series was pivotal.

As Angela Norris, Ali Larter seems so obviously right for this explosive, down but never out trailblazer, you’d figure Sheridan simply picked up the phone one day to tell Larter, “Come be my Angela.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice? No, that’s not what happened. I had to audition three times,” Larter, 48, explained in a Zoom interview.  “I screen-tested –19 pages! I completely fought for this role.

“This was not easy but from the first page of his writing, I knew she was an unforgettable character, one I really wanted to play. And in moviemaking, it all starts with the script — and his scripts are just so brilliant. To be able to work on this level, have a seat at the table, such an honor.”

With Thornton she quickly discovered, “When he drops into character, you can’t tell a difference between the two people. He just doesn’t have a false step.”

Though long separated, their romance is key. “To create the love story between these two characters, with all the vitriol, all the fighting, all the fire! But also all the love. Really, that was fun.”

So was creating Angela’s distinctive look.

“I had very, very strong opinions for so much of this character. I worked with my dialect coach twice a week for six months. I worked with my acting coach.

“There was so much that went into creating this woman, because she is very larger than life. But she needed to have all the emotional depth to back it up.

“I also needed to be able to,” she added smiling, “walk in her shoes. And she loves five inches. So it was finding the jeans, finding the colors. Finding she loves leopard. She loves Versace and Alaia. I chose all the jewelry for her — the ropes of diamonds and the cross.

“All these pieces came together to make this character. It was a journey.”

“Landman” airs its first two episodes Sunday on Paramount+ and in December, a very different Larter is on view when “The Man in the White Van” opens in theaters.

“It’s pretty scary, the true story of a serial killer in the ‘70s in Florida.”

A teenager tells her parents she’s being followed by this van – and they pooh-pooh the idea.

“One thing that attracted me was, because it’s set in 1974, I could delve into the family dynamic of that time period which was really interesting to me.

“But then you see what this person did — it’s pretty shocking. And scary.”

 “Landman” premieres 2 episode on Paramount+ Nov. 17