Jacob Lofland says this season of Landman took on new meaning after the death of his father.

The actor, who plays Cooper in Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ drama series, tells PEOPLE that one of the most powerful moments he’s filmed this season — a quiet father-son conversation with Billy Bob Thornton — carried an emotional weight that extended beyond the script.

“Me and Billy in the truck, talking about how much a son loves his dad. … I just recently lost my dad,” Lofland says. “It was a nice moment.”

That scene, which explores the complicated bond between Cooper and his father figure Tommy Norris, resonates deeply for Lofland after the death of his own father in July 2025.

In a 2025 conversation with Interview Magazine, Lofland reflected on the profound shift that comes with losing a parent, describing both the grief and the unexpected growth that follows.

“You’ve always had that person that no matter what you could call,” he said. “You had that man who gave whatever information or whatever advice — whether it helped or not, at least it was something. And once that’s gone, there’s just a lonely feeling. That’s it.”

Still, he noted that loss can also mark a turning point. “I do believe that losing the man who made you, you have no choice anymore; you better become the man that he’s taught you to be,” Lofland said. “There’s no room to stumble anymore.”

That emotional truth is something Lofland brings directly into his work on Landman, which premiered in 2024 and follows the high-stakes, volatile world of the oil industry, in which business, family and survival are constantly intertwined.

For Lofland, the connection is more than thematic. “My dad actually worked in the oil field so to be able to shed light on that, it really means a lot to me,” he tells PEOPLE.

His family’s ties to the industry run deep. Lofland previously shared with Cowboys & Indians Magazine that his father and uncles worked as “roughnecks and welders” in Texas oil fields in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and that he grew up in Arkansas hearing stories about the demanding, “boom-and-bust” nature of the work.

Lofland and Thornton previously told Entertainment Weekly that they both drew from their own experiences with loss while filming a key father-son scene in season 2.

“Oh, man, it almost makes me emotional thinking about it,” Lofland said. “Me and him both worked off things that … I just lost my dad last year and he lost his years ago. To have that moment and that understanding is awesome, you know? And that’s what makes that scene. Because that’s real. That’s our emotion. That’s our life that we’re putting in that.”

Before joining Landman, Lofland was already a fan of Yellowstone creator Sheridan’s work. “For sure. Watched all of them before I ever had the opportunity to be a part of Landman,” he told PEOPLE.

While he shares the screen with veteran actors like Thornton and Sam Elliott, Lofland says some of his biggest lessons come simply from observation: “I think just watching them is probably the best teaching you can get.”

That growth is evident in Cooper’s evolving relationships, particularly with Ariana (Paulina Chávez), which Lofland says has been one of the most rewarding parts of the season.

“Building a relationship with Ariana… we’ve really gotten comfortable and found something special on screen,” he says.

Landman is streaming on Paramount+.