Jacob Adam McLaughlin, an American actor and former soldier, was born on October 7, 1982. Prior to pursuing an acting career, McLaughlin served in the military, where he was a dismount infantry S.A.W. gunner in Iraq.
After leaving the military, McLaughlin worked on a crab boat in Oregon, as a security guard at Universal Studios, and did concrete work in Chico, California. When he heard about a casting session for Paul Haggis's In the Valley of Elah, he decided to audition for the role, drawing from his real-life experiences as a veteran.
McLaughlin's breakout role came when he starred as Specialist Gordon Bonner in the 2007 film In the Valley of Elah, which was based on actual events involving American soldiers who served in the Iraq War. Following the success of this film, he made cameo appearances in movies such as The Day the Earth Stood Still and Cloverfield, and appeared in episodes of The Unit and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
In 2009, McLaughlin landed his first major role on TV in the television remake of the Oscar-winning film, Crash. He continued to make many appearances on television throughout the following years. In 2011, he was cast in the television series Warrior, followed by a supporting role in Safe House.
In February 2013, McLaughlin was cast as the male lead in the television pilot Believe, a project by Alfonso Cuarón that was picked to series in May. The show premiered on NBC in March 2014. The following year, he was cast in the television pilot Quantico, which was also picked to series in May.
