Peter Berg and Taylor Sheridan have a history that runs deep — and it all started with a script Sheridan sent him a decade ago. That script led a baffled Berg to wonder what on Earth this nonsense was — until he saw the potential in the writing: “How are you going to film a cow sweating?” was Berg’s first reaction. But a few pages later, he realized: “This guy’s the real deal.” That script would eventually become Hell or High Water, and the meeting it sparked launched a creative partnership (and friendship) between two modern titans of Western storytelling. In a wide-ranging conversation for Gold Derby, Berg reflected on how Sheridan’s no-nonsense, boots-on-the-ground approach shaped his own outlook.