The Stunning Transformation Of Landman Star Jacob Lofland

After years of earning his stripes as an actor, Jacob Lofland has become one of Hollywood's newest ascending stars. Thanks to his role in Paramount+ hit "Landman," Lofland's profile is on the rise.

Lofland's sudden fame comes courtesy of "Yellowstone" creator Taylor Sheridan, the mind behind series like "Lioness," "Tulsa King," "The Mayor of Kingstown," and other TV hits. "Landman," which debuted in November 2024, has really captured the zeitgeist. The neo-western series follows the exploits of titular landman Tommy Norris (played by Billy Bob Thornton), who works in the oilfields of the Permian Basin in West Texas. Lofland nabbed the juicy role of Tommy's son, Cooper. The first season proved popular enough to warrant another, and the second season's premiere set a new debut viewership record of 9.2 million for Paramount Plus. That's small potatoes compared to the season finale, which raked in 14.8 million viewers — a whopping 70% increase over the previous season's closer.

Despite his relatively young age — he celebrated his 29th birthday in 2025 — Lofland is a Hollywood veteran who has been working in the industry since he was a kid. His path to stardom, however, has been far from typical. Keep reading to learn about the stunning transformation of the "Landman" star.

While growing up as an only child in a small Arkansas town, Jacob Lofland enjoyed a typical rural upbringing. That included zipping around on dirt bikes and joyriding in boats, in addition to hanging out at the sawmill owned by his father, who tragically passed away in 2025. "After getting off work, the guys would have a beer around the fire and tell stories," Lofland told Dazed. "I spent my childhood sitting there, listening, understanding that there are more ways to look at life than the way you're seeing it in the moment. I think that has a lot to do with who I am."

Acting was never something to which Lofland aspired. Sure, he'd appeared in a few school plays when he was little, but only because he'd been forced to. Speaking to Interview, he explained that there were only seven kids in his class, so if they didn't all participate in the play, there wouldn't have been one. "We were all always in the plays, even though we hated it," he admitted. 

Acting was so far off Lofland's radar, the notion that he'd one day become a Hollywood star wasn't something he'd ever considered. "I never thought it to be a career path or an idea," he recalled in an interview with About You. "I had no idea what it was, what it entailed, or anyone that had ever done it."

Jacob Lofland was just 13 when his life changed forever. It began with his mother discovering a newspaper ad for an open casting call for a movie called "Mud," seeking children with specific attributes — no acting experience necessary. "They wanted a kid that could drive a boat and ride a motorcycle. It didn't say anything about acting! So I filled it out, we sent it off, and I thought nothing of it," Lofland told Dazed.

Against all odds, he won the role, and a few weeks later, Lofland was on his first movie set. He and fellow child actor Tye Sheridan found themselves working alongside bona fide movie star, Matthew McConaughey, who'd almost disappeared from Hollywood before ditching the rom-coms that made him famous to make passion projects like "Mud." 

"It was kind of a whirlwind when 'Mud' happened," Lofland told About You. In fact, McConaughey was the first person Lofland met when he arrived on set, and the star wound up becoming something of a mentor to the rookie actor. "He was the most laid-back, easiest going, would give us any pointer and take the time out of his day to make sure that me and Tye were both comfortable and understood and were prepared," recalled Lofland. The experience was revelatory — Lofland proved to be a natural in front of the camera and loved every second of it. That was the first time he seriously considered becoming a professional actor. "Once I got my first job in 'Mud,' it was like, 'Oh, wow, this is something I actually enjoy and a fun thing to do with my time,'" he added. "That's kind of when it became somewhat of a passion."

With "Mud" under his belt, fledgling actor Jacob Lofland continued to pursue his new dream. That led to his second screen role in the 2014 film "Little Accidents." When casting her first film, director Sara Colangelo picked Lofland not for his acting experience, but for his life experience. "I needed an adolescent boy who looked like he could fix a dirt-bike motor, who might have coal-dust in the creases of his neck — and Jacob had that quality to me." Ultimately, it was Lofland's authenticity and unaffected manner that won him the role. "It's baked into everything he does," she added. 

In the film, Lofland plays a teenager who loses his father in a mining accident. During its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Lofland recalled that he loved the script when he first read it and then found himself connecting with Colangelo when they spoke on the phone. "So, you know, I went after it and got it, and I'm so excited I did," he told Flicks on the City during a red carpet interview.

Comparing the experience to "Mud," Lofland noted that the big difference between his screen debut and his sophomore film was that the latter had a smaller budget. "A little more stressful, but everybody had a great time, and we were all a big family, so it was great," he explained.

Around the same time that Jacob Lofland was cast in "Little Accidents," he also landed his first television role as youngster Kendal Crowe in FX's modern-day western series "Justified." While being interviewed by Flicks and the City, Lofland described his character as "a Southern troublemaker — imagine that!" 

The teenage nephew of crime boss Daryl Crowe (played by veteran actor Michael Rapaport), Kendal appears in 10 episodes of the fifth season of "Justified" in 2014 and impressed his more-experienced co-stars. "He's been great," Rapaport told SciFi Vision. "He's another really good talent."

As the youngster continued to amass acting roles, his confidence grew right along with his professional résumé. "Now that I've tried it, I love it and I want to make a career out of it," Lofland declared in an interview with the Arkansas Times, insisting that he'd found his calling. "It's fun and it's easy. Everybody is like, 'How hard is it learning your lines?' Well, it's not as hard as working 12-hour days," he added.

Next up for Jacob Lofland was "Texas Rising," a TV miniseries about the formation of the Texas Rangers that aired on the History Channel in 2015. Not only did the role signify yet another professional achievement for the on-the-rise young actor, but it was the first time that he'd acted after turning 18 — which meant his mother was no longer legally required to be his chaperone on set. 

"It was the best thing an 18-year-old could ask for: You're by yourself in Mexico, where you can do anything you want, running around with a bunch of other actors. It was definitely an experience; I don't know if it was a good or a bad one," he recalled for Interview. Filming "Texas Rising" also marked the moment that Lofland had an epiphany, struck with the realization that he was a legitimate actor and would continue to follow that path wherever it led him. "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," he said in an interview with Cowboys & Indians. 

Jacob Lofland's burgeoning acting career received another major boost when he was cast in "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials," the 2015 entry in the hit film franchise based on the bestselling book series. Lofland was tapped to play Aris Jones, a key character from the second "Maze Runner" novel.

Lofland reprised his role as Aris in the 2018 sequel, "Maze Runner: The Death Cure." Looking back on making "The Scorch Trials" in an interview with ScreenRant, Lofland recalled a highly positive experience that resulted in lasting friendships. "I'm still really close with Dylan [O'Brien], I talk to Ki Hong [Lee] and Dexter [Darden]," he said. "All of them are great dudes, and at the time, I think I was 18 when we did that." Shooting the movies proved to bond the cast tightly, and Lofland has remained close with his co-stars. "I still keep in touch with all those dudes, and it was a great experience, and one that I'll never forget, for sure," he said.

Working on a big-budget Hollywood production ultimately transformed Lofland into a far more seasoned actor. That would become apparent in his next project, which would reunite him with an important figure from his past.

During the course of Matthew McConaughey's evolution into a Hollywood heavyweight, he partnered with director Gary Ross for the 2016 Civil War drama "The Free State of Jones." Lofland was cast as Daniel, a terrified young Confederate soldier who'd just been conscripted. 

The role was small but memorable, with Lofland's character killed in battle a mere 15 minutes into the film. As Lofland recalled for Dazed, he was feeling stressed out ahead of a scene that required him to cry — something he wasn't sure how to pull off — and asked McConaughey if he had any advice. "He said, 'I do — nobody can ever tell you that you have to cry.' And somehow that was exactly what I needed to hear to make it work. That scene is one of the proudest moments of my career," he said. 

In the same interview, McConaughey remarked that he'd recognized a huge evolution in the actor since first working with him a few years earlier. "In 'Mud,' Jacob was innocent and had a talent for being able to be confidently honest in front of a camera," McConaughey explained. "In 'Free State' he'd become a much more learned actor and I was so pleased to see that, in the time he'd educated himself on the craft, he hadn't lost the instincts that made him such a raw talent in the first place — not an easy feat for a young actor, or any actor for that matter."

Jacob Lofland returned to television with the 2017 series "The Son," a historical drama focusing on the multi-generational tale of a family's oil empire. The protagonist of the series is Eli McCullough, played by Pierce Brosnan, an actor who's also evolved significantly over the years. Lofland portrayed the younger version of Brosnan's character in flashbacks.

In his storyline, young Eli is kidnapped by the Comanches, who raise him to become a respected warrior. "It's a wonderful way to explore this character," Brosnan said of Lofland's scenes when interviewed for TV Insider. "Eli's survivalist instincts come from the Comanche. Their brutal way of life is ingrained in his blood." 

Lofland's performance drew high praise from his co-star. "He was in the movie 'Mud' with Matthew McConaughey, and he's quite brilliant," Brosnan told Interview. Brosnan heaped even more praise on Lofland, telling Global News, "Jacob Lofland, who plays the young Eli, is remarkable. Stars will be born, and that's exhilarating to see."

After "The Son," Jacob Lofland appeared in a few films — including a small part in "Joker: Folie à Deux," a film that also played a part in Lady Gaga's fascinating career journey. Those movies, however, paled in comparison to his next project, Paramount Plus's 2024 television drama, "Landman." 

Lofland was cast in a major role, Cooper Norris, son of protagonist Billy Bob Thornton's Tommy Norris. And while the personal tragedies Thornton has endured are heartbreaking, "Landman" proved to be a late-career triumph for the actor — and indeed, the rest of the cast. For Lofland, working on a Taylor Sheridan production was an eye-opening experience. "Taylor writes it and it just comes off the page that way. It makes our jobs easy," he gushed in an interview with UPI. "I'm incredibly fortunate to be playing this character and have such an impact in the show."

The success of "Landman" has been a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Lofland's been deluged with opportunities that wouldn't have been available to him previously. On the other, the resulting fame has impacted his personal life. "I'll tell you one thing," he told two-time co-star Matthew McConaughey when the pair spoke for Interview, "going through the airport is a lot harder now."

Over the course of more than a decade, Jacob Lofland has worked with many stars. Portraying the son of Billy Bob Thornton's character in "Landman," however, was a prospect he found both exciting and daunting. "Before I met Billy, I was super intimidated," he told Cowboys & Indians, before revealing that the feeling lifted once he got to know his onscreen dad better.

When Sam Elliott joined the cast in 2025 for season two, playing the role of Cooper's grandfather, Lofland found himself in the enviable position of being able to learn from two veteran actors simply by observing them. "It's just being able to be around these men and women that have done this for so long, and watch the way they carry themselves, the way they work, their ethic and their attitude," he said. "I think that teaches more and speaks more than any piece of advice they could ever give."

However, Lofland also admitted that it was tough not to be starstruck in the presence of these two Hollywood heavyweights. "Honestly, the first take, I think I had just the most dumbfounded look on my face," Lofland told People. He was so captivated by their performances, he nearly forgot he was in the scene himself. "It took me to [the shoes of] an audience member, and then I realized, 'Oh, I got to say something. Hold on.'"

Jacob Lofland's very first film, "Mud," was filmed in Texas. Since then, he's appeared in other film and television projects shot in the Lone Star State, including "The Son" and "12 Mighty Orphans." With "Landman" being filmed in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, he once again found himself on familiar turf. 

"I've always loved Texas," Lofland told Cowboys & Indians, "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." 

But even if he does eventually wind up settling in Fort Worth, the actor says Arkansas will always be home. "I'll definitely always have my roots in Arkansas," Lofland shared with About You. While his acting career will certainly take him to other places, Lofland doesn't ever see himself making the traditional actor's move of settling in Los Angeles." A big reason for that, as he told Interview, is his dislike of the City of Angels' traffic jams. "I love driving," he said, explaining his preference for Arkansas over L.A., "but I like driving on a two-lane road where you can drive for hours and not see anybody."

Over the course of the first two seasons of "Landman," viewers have watched Jacob Lofland's Cooper Norris evolve from a rookie roughneck into a burgeoning oil tycoon. Meanwhile, his relationship with widowed single mom Ariana Medina, portrayed by Paulina Chávez, has deepened and matured. At the same time, a new horizon beckoned when the second season ended — Billy Bob Thornton's Tommy Norris had been fired by M-Tex Oil and launched a new company in partnership with Cooper and his oil wells.

As for where the future will take Cooper, only one person really knows: "Landman" creator Taylor Sheridan. "I just trust Taylor," Lofland said in an interview with Decider. "He has a better plan for Cooper than anything I could come up with." According to Lofland, he's as anxious as viewers are to find out what happens next. "I'm just excited to get those Season 3 scripts and see where we go," he added. "It's a waiting game now."