Landman: Who Is Jacob Lofland? Why Cooper Norris Looks Familiar

Believe it or not, Landman isn't actor Jacob Lofland's biggest production to date. In fact, it's not even his most popular project of 2024.

The 28-year-old began his acting career as a young boy without any experience. In 2012, he answered an open casting call and scored a role alongside Matthew McConaughey.

• Jacob Lofland plays Cooper Norris on Landman, streaming now on Paramount+.
• His character is the son of Billy Bob Thornton's Tommy Norris, but he spends the most on-screen time with Paulina Chávez, who plays Ariana.
• Through the first seven episodes, Cooper has gone to the hospital at least twice.

Related: Who Is Michelle Randolph? Landman, 1923 Star Is Nothing Like Her Character

Who Is Jacob Lofland?

Jacob Lofland was born in Briggsville, Ark., on June 30, 1996. In 2010 or 2011, director Jeff Nichols aimed to film a movie called Mud in the area and wanted a local kid to play a teenager named Neckbone, who befriends Matthew McConaughey's titular character.

Lofland and his parents found an advertisement for the part and thought they'd try. Nichols felt the young boy was perfect, and an acting career was born. We found this adorable interview with Lofland at the PVRINOX Pictures YouTube page. It shows how Lofland handled the experience of his first major role.

It's hard to find personal information about Lofland, but an inspection of his Instagram page shows he's into car racing, trucks, international travel and University of Arkansas football. Talking to Decider, he shared that he enjoys hunting. That's actually something he and Thornton bonded over, hunting and squirrel meat.

In high school he had a girlfriend, but there's been nothing about his love life since. In fact, from about 2021 to 2023 Lofland didn't share anything to the social media platform, but his role in Landman inspired new content. During a short conversation with Taste of Country, he admitted the emotions of some of his scenes are still haunting him and said co-star Billy Bob Thornton was the "sweetest man."

"Within five minutes (of first meeting), we had become best friends," he says, adding, "You meet Billy Bob, you meet the real Billy Bob; there's not a front. He is the nicest, sweetest man, and one of the most talented actors that I could ever be blessed to work around. That dynamic was not hard to get to at all."

Jacob Lofland TV and Film Roles:

In addition to play Neckbone in Mud, Lofland's credits include Aris in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, Colby Pit in Texas Rising and Owen Briggs in Little Accidents.

He also played Kendal Crowe in 10 episodes of Justified, Snoggs in a 2021 movie called 12 Mighty Orphans and Ricky Meline in Joker: Folie à Deux.

This last film was released in 2024. Lofland's character is a prison inmate who is a big fan of the Joker (played by Joaquin Phoenix), but he meets an awful end in the prison. Lady Gaga was also in the film, which was received poorly by critics but still grossed more than $200 million worldwide.