‘Landman’: Jacob Lofland Reveals Cooper’s Fate & More Teasers for What’s Next

[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for Landman Episode 5, “Where Is Home”.]

No good deed goes unpunished in Landman. After Cooper (Jacob Lofland) decides to pay a visit to Ariana (Paulina Chávez) to help the new widow adjust to life on her own — patiently explaining things like recurrent mortgage auto-drafts and dutifully mowing her lawn — he’s rewarded for that effort with a beating from Manuel (J.R. Villarreal) and his goons. 

That’s maybe not even the worst thing that happens to him that day, either. Earlier, his mom (Ali Larter) insists on hosting a family dinner with Tommy (Billy Bob Thornton), with whom she’s newly reconciled, and Ainsley (Michelle Randolph), along with the other oil house residents — and to say it’s an awkward occasion is an understatement.

So what does the future hold for Cooper and the rest of the Norris crew? TV Insider caught up with Lofland to find out.

I wanted to start with probably what’s the most obvious question: Is Cooper alive now?

Jacob Lofland: I think I can say that without spoiling. Yes, we’re still in there. We’re still here.

So is this incident and then what happened with the oil rig and the pipes falling on the other man gonna change his calculus about doing this work?

It might change the path and or the direction and how he gets to his end goal. I will say that there will be some changes to his path.… It’s definitely gonna be worth watching. He’s still definitely goal-oriented on what he’s doing but has to change his tactics a touch to get where he’s needing to go… Taking it back a little bit.

Why do you think he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps in the first place?

I think it’s a safe thing. I’m from middle America. That’s just kind of a go-to. You’re not gonna make that kind of money on the six months out of the year — you can make almost $200,000. And for someone without an education or without a college degree, that’s pretty hard to do, takes a lot of work, but it’s just a very common way to do it, and I think it’s safe. He’s witnessed his dad and Monty, who he’s known most of his life, do very well and be successful and have the lows and highs, and I think he’s wanting that life. He doesn’t know what it entails to have that life yet, but he wants that success.

Does he feel guilty for Elvio’s death?

I think it’s a flooded mix of emotions. There’s definitely some survivor’s guilt. I don’t know if he’s blaming himself. I think the whole situation is just not fun and especially not good and especially once Ariana gets involved and he sees that it’s caused a lot more grief than just knowing that there were people there. Now there’s faces and there’s a baby, and I think the emotion really is survivor’s guilt. I don’t think he thinks it’s his fault, but he’s wondering why he’s still here and he got out of that situation.

Is Manuel at all right about Cooper’s intentions with Ariana?

I don’t believe so. As the character, I don’t believe so. But that’s to be interpreted by, I guess, all parties. No, I think he’s just being super protective of Ariana since what’s happened, and I really don’t think Cooper’s intentions are in the slightest wrong. I think he’s just there to try to help. At least that’s my understanding. He’s just there to try to do a good thing because of the guilt. He can’t stand sitting by himself, and I don’t think she can either. So it’s just something to do, and he’s trying to do everything he can just to say, “Here you go. It’s all I can give, but it’s something.”

… That’s a really fun dynamic though. That was a great episode for both characters and just getting to know kind of the vulnerability of Cooper and Ariana and get to see the difference in him being vulnerable and talking to someone in that space and then having to go to work with these blue-collar men and put all that behind you. It’s a cool dynamic.

What do you think it is about Cooper that makes Ariana trust him so immediately and implicitly?

I think just the sincerity. I think she understands he’s not trying to get anything out of this.

He’s just there to help for the reason we just spoke. I don’t think either one of them can stand to be alone at this moment from what he’s went through and what she’s went through; just having someone around not talking is something at that point.

Moving on to his family, why is Cooper’s relationship with his sister so strained?

That is a great question. And I’m hoping throughout this series, we learn that because at the moment, we were not sure. I think that’ll be a whole story in itself when it comes out. But even as the characters right now, me and Michelle, Ainsley, we talk about that all the time. Like, “Why do we hate each other?” We’re not sure yet, but I’ve got a feeling it’s gonna come out and we will eventually know. But it’s a very fun dynamic to play with, especially with sister and brother. We love each other and hate each other at the same time.

Why does Cooper choose to live in that small little cabin instead of in the family house?

I don’t think it’s really an option for him to live in the family’s home honestly. And I think it’s really important to Cooper that he does this on his own. It’s a really hard thing to come into this job, especially as the boss’ son and expect to have the same treatment. So Cooper is not trying to use his dad any more than he absolutely has to to keep this job. He wants to build his own name, do this on his own. This is his rite of passage, and he just wants everyone to stay out of it and for him to do it his way. So I think that’s really where that comes from is he’s trying to be as independent as he can for himself.

On that note, he has a good relationship with his father. Do you think he’s at all happy that his mom is back and that they’re trying to work their marriage out?

I’m sure deep down with your mother [there’s love]. I think there’s been so much turmoil in the relationship before that he knows it’s gonna be a struggle on the entire family. It’s not just them. I think that’s Cooper’s understanding of this, and we’re still not sure about the direct things of why he feels this way [about her], and I hope they do come out later. But yeah, Cooper is a little older than Ansley and I think really remembers the hardships of what it was like when they were together. So he’s a lot more lenient and like, “Are we sure we all want to go through this again?”

In general, what is the heart of this show, and what is it saying about this industry?

Well, at the end of the day, it’s entertainment, first of all. I think the true heart in it, though, is gonna be the understanding of how this industry affects the families and the people that get this all out of the ground. That’s what drew me to the script in the first place is this is something that a lot of people have no idea is even going on. There’s a whole percentage of people that don’t even understand this is a job. And at the end of the day, we wouldn’t have these iPads or the floors or tires or anything if it wasn’t for it. So just to bring light to that and for people to see that these men and women who wake up every day and go out here and put their life on the line really in a lot of ways, don’t just do it for fun. I mean, they’re doing it to make the world turn. So that was cool.

And at the same time, the impacts that has on these families when you get to see your husband for six months out of the year, and he’s 1000 miles away living in a man camp, and it’s 32 degrees and he’s working his ass off. There’s struggles that come with that line of work. That is really interesting. And that’s the dynamic. I think that is the heart of the show is these people in this part of the world. This is how they survive, and this is how they work and this is their dedication. That’s the other thing, the sacrifice and dedication they put in. But to me, that’s the heart of the show, it’s the people.

I know we already talked about how Cooper’s gonna survive. But is there anything else you can tease about what’s ahead?

Oh man… Cooper wants to own a company and at the same time, Tommy does or doesn’t, but is having to manage the company. So at the end, I think there will hopefully be some intersection there and a little back and forth between Tommy and Cooper as far as where it’s going, which second season — nothing’s been announced, but that’s what I’m looking forward to is hopefully to be able to tell more of the story next year. [Season] 1 is just gonna leave you wanting more. So, it’s kind of hard for me to say where it’s gonna go, you know? There’s so many ways it can go.

With the high viewership and the way these other Taylor Sheridan shows are going, it’s probably a good chance. Speaking of that, with the Sheridan universe, actors often cross over to other shows. Is there any one you want to be a part of next?

Oh, Lioness. Hands down. Right now, Lioness. Absolutely love it. I’m waiting, just like I am for Landman, to watch Lioness every Sunday. I love it. I love James Jordan, too. Huge fan, but everyone in that show absolutely kills it. It’s incredibly action-packed and I would love to do something in Lioness sometime. Yeah, that’s a great question. I’ve thought about that a lot.

Landman, Sundays, Paramount+