The Arkansas-born actor continues his ascent to stardom.
Actor Jacob Lofland will be celebrating Landman in Austin this weekend.
Specifically, he’s scheduled to appear on a panel with co-star Billy Bob Thornton and series co-creator/executive producer Christian Wallace at the ATX TV festival for what’s billed as “a deep dive into the Paramount+ original’s record-breaking first season — from drawing on real Texas stories and filming in-state to crafting their characters and more.”
But really: Lofland’s heart will remain elsewhere in the Lone Star State.
“I’ve always loved Texas,” he told us recently, “but being able to work in Fort Worth especially — it feels like a second home. I’d love to get a house there soon. Dallas is cool, but Fort Worth? I love Fort Worth.”
And not just because Cowtown is the main location for Landman, which is being honored at the ATX TV fest, in partnership with Media For Texas, with its inaugural “Texas Made” Award, a tribute intended to honor “individuals and productions with Texas ties who are creating professional opportunities for the creative community within the state and bolstering Texas as a creative and cultural center through their work.”
Long before he signed on with producer Taylor Sheridan to play Cooper Norris, the callow but ambitious son of Thornton’s title character, Lofland had a major role in 12 Mighty Orphans, the well-received filmed-in-Fort Worth drama — winner of the 2022 C&I Movie Award for Best Film — that allowed him the opportunity to rub shoulders with the likes of Martin Sheen, Luke Wilson, Vinessa Shaw, and, fleetingly, Robert Duvall.
But 12 Mighty Orphans was far from Lofland’s first chance to hang with — and learn from — stellar collaborators. Indeed, the Arkansas-born actor made his movie debut at age 15 opposite no less a luminary than Matthew McConaughey in Mud, writer-director Jeff Nichols’ acclaimed indie — a 2012 Cannes Film Festival premiere — about two teenagers (Lofland and co-star Tye Sheridan) who help a charismatic fugitive (McConaughey) avoid capture. (Not incidentally, the supporting cast included Reese Witherspoon, Sam Shepard, and Joe Don Baker.)
Among Lofland’s subsequent film and TV roles: Aris in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018), Colby Pitt in Texas Rising (2015), Kendal Crowe in Season 5 of Justified, and young Eli McCullough (opposite Zahn McClarnon’s Comanche chief Toshaway) in the 2017-2019 AMC adaptation of Philipp Meyer’s prize-winning novel The Son.
Here are some highlights from the conversation — edited for brevity and clarity — that we had with Jacob Lofland after Season 1 of Landman (now available on DVD and Blu-Ray) wrapped.
Cowboys & Indians: You started out in show business by jumping into the deep end of the pool with Mud. Did that early success give you a sense of “Hey, this really isn’t that difficult”?
Jacob Lofland: For sure. I think I caught the bug with Mud. I had no idea what we had actually done at the time. My first film festival ever was Cannes, and the first question I ever answered about a film was there — so it was kind of a crazy experience. I really had nothing to compare it to. From there, I realized how fun acting could be, and I just kept pursuing it. I was lucky to be young enough that I didn’t have to worry about making money elsewhere, and within that small timeframe, I managed to get a start. I’ve been fortunate to keep it going since.
C&I: Have you ever been intimidated by anybody you’ve worked with?
Lofland: Oh, constantly. Before I met Billy [Bob Thornton], I was super intimidated. Same with Matthew [McConaughey]. Yeah, I’m always a little intimidated. But 90 percent of the time, once you meet these people, they’re just like us — normal, down-to-earth folks who want to be friends. That takes a lot of the weight off.
C&I: Have you noticed a common thread among the successful actors you’ve worked with — something like, they wouldn’t be where they are if they didn’t, first, know what they were doing and, second, make people want to work with them?
Lofland: Yeah, absolutely. I’ve been lucky — I’ve never really had to work with someone I didn’t want to. What stands out the most is their dedication. Even when things aren’t going their way, the real ones never back off. They keep pushing forward, no matter how many times they hear “no.” They don’t let it kill their spirit. They still enjoy it. They’re not doing it just for the paycheck — they do it for the love of the craft. That’s what creates longevity in this business.
C&I: During Season 1 of Landman, your character served a bit like the audience’s point of view. Cooper was discovering this world right along with us, as he tried to learn enough to start his own company. Did you have any background in the oil business?
Lofland: Very little. My dad and my uncles worked in the oil fields back in the late ’70s and early ’80s. They were roughnecks and welders, so I heard a lot of stories. I had an idea of what I was getting into, but I’d never seen it up close until we were actually shooting the show.
C&I: When you read the first few scripts and saw that your character was going to be just a few feet from an oil rig explosion, was your first thought, “Wait, how are we going to pull this off?”
Lofland: Yeah, that definitely crossed my mind! But I always trust the process. I didn’t worry about it until the day we shot it. Then it was like, “Oh no, we’re actually doing this.” No CGI. Just real effects. That’s the great thing about a Taylor Sheridan show — you don’t have to act too much. The stakes are high, and everything is as real as it can get.
C&I: Do you have a problem with cracking up or laughing in scenes with Billy Bob?
Lofland: Yeah, that happens a lot. He’s got this way of being funny without even trying. We were just talking about this in another interview — the dinner scene in Episode 5. By the end of that day, we were all sore from laughing. That was one of the funnest days I’ve ever had on set.
C&I: What’s been the toughest nut for you to crack with this character? What aspect of Cooper was hardest to relate to — at least at first?
Lofland: That’s a really good question. I love Cooper because we’re building him as we go. He’s still learning who he is as a man, and we get to walk alongside him as he figures things out. So I don’t think that challenge has fully presented itself yet.
What draws me to Cooper is that so much of what he’s going through — whether it’s personal struggles, emotional moments, or tough decisions — are things I’ve dealt with in my own life in one form or another. They’re real, human emotions. And that goes back to Taylor’s writing — there are very few people who can put that kind of raw honesty on the page like he does.
C&I: What would you like to do next with Cooper? I mean, you’ve already had some heroic moments. And yes, some romantic moments, with Paulina Chávez as Cooper’s beloved Ariana. But in terms of character development, where do you hope he goes?
Lofland: I honestly don’t try to predict it. I’ve done this long enough to know that the fun part is not knowing. If I got to decide everything, it’d be too easy. The surprise keeps it real — and it helps you react authentically.
That said, I’m just excited to portray Cooper becoming the man he’s meant to be. Building a life for himself and the people around him — that’s compelling to me. Watching a young man try to find his way in today’s world is a story worth telling.
C&I: Finally, you started out, like I said, by jumping into the deep end of the pool. But do you remember the moment when it hit you — this could be a real career, not just a one-time thing?
Lofland: I think that moment came when I was in Mexico filming the miniseries Texas Rising for the HISTORY Channel. That was about three years in, and I thought “OK, I’m still here, still working — maybe this is what I’m going to do.” Since then, I haven’t really looked back.
