# Jake McLaughlin
**Jake McLaughlin** (Jacob Adam McLaughlin) is an American actor and [Iraq War](https://www.edgepedia.org/iraq-war) veteran, born in 1982 in [Paradise, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/paradise-california), who played FBI agent Ryan Booth on the ABC thriller *Quantico* and plays Detective Michael Ormewood on ABC's *Will Trent*. He entered acting in 2007 with no prior training, when [Paul Haggis](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-haggis) cast him as Specialist Gordon Bonner in *In the Valley of Elah* specifically because he was a real combat veteran.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1982, Paradise, California[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2474864/) |
| Military service | U.S. Army, 3rd Infantry Division, Operation Iraqi Freedom; his battalion was among the first to enter Baghdad[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-14-et-valley14-story.html) |
| Film debut | Specialist Gordon Bonner in *In the Valley of Elah* (2007), cast from a search for real Iraq veterans[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-14-et-valley14-story.html) |
| Lead TV role | Ryan Booth, all 57 episodes of *Quantico* (ABC, 2015–2018), opposite Priyanka Chopra[3](https://www.looper.com/1158293/why-michael-from-will-trent-looks-so-familiar/) |
| Current series | Michael Ormewood on *Will Trent* (ABC, 2023– ), based on Karin Slaughter's novels[4](https://abc.com/shows/will-trent/about-the-show/1000) |
| Military honors | Army Commendation Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Global War on Terrorism Service and Expeditionary Medals, Army Good Conduct Medal, four Army Achievement Medals[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2474864/) |
| Family | Married to Stephanie since 2004; four children[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2474864/) |
## Military service
McLaughlin enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2002 as a machine gunner in a foot-infantry squad of the 3rd Infantry Division. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his battalion was among the first on the ground for the invasion of Baghdad.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-14-et-valley14-story.html)
His service record carried real costs and real distinctions. He earned the Army Commendation Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge, the [Global War on Terrorism Service Medal](https://www.edgepedia.org/global-war-on-terrorism-service-medal), the [Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal](https://www.edgepedia.org/global-war-on-terrorism-expeditionary-medal), the Army Good Conduct Medal, and four Army Achievement Medals; despite having been critically wounded, he was not awarded the [Purple Heart](https://www.edgepedia.org/purple-heart).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2474864/)
## Breakthrough: In the Valley of Elah
When McLaughlin came home, his acting prospects were thin. He had a wife and two children to support in [Chico, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/chico-california), so he poured concrete and studied to become a truck driver while his real ambition, acting, waited.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-14-et-valley14-story.html)
The turning point came through a former neighbor. Her employers were Sarah Finn and Randi Hiller, the casting directors for Paul Haggis's war drama *In the Valley of Elah*, and they were looking for veterans. Down to his last $200, McLaughlin auditioned and won the role of Specialist Gordon Bonner. Four months later he was leading cast members through combat scenes in Morocco.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-14-et-valley14-story.html)
His military experience shaped the production itself. When other actors asked how a soldier would clear a building, Haggis told the cast to listen to McLaughlin and do what he said.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-14-et-valley14-story.html) He was one of three Iraq veterans Haggis cast in key roles in the Warner Independent drama.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-14-et-valley14-story.html)
## Television career
The film debut opened the door to steady television work. Through the late 2000s and early 2010s McLaughlin compiled guest credits on *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation*, *CSI: Miami*, *Grey's Anatomy*, *Criminal Minds*, *The Unit*, *Heroes*, *NCIS: Los Angeles*, *Leverage*, and *Scorpion*, among others.[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jake-mclaughlin/) • [6](https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/will-trent-jake-mclaughlin-seen-movies-tv-shows.html/) He played William Tate, an inmate on the wrong side of the law, in the NBC series *Believe* (2014), produced by J.J. Abrams and [Alfonso Cuarón](https://www.edgepedia.org/alfonso-cuaron), and he has described Cuarón's meticulous rehearsal of camera setups as a different kind of challenge from any role he had taken before.[3](https://www.looper.com/1158293/why-michael-from-will-trent-looks-so-familiar/) • [7](https://www.dgepress.com/abc/bios/jake-mclaughlin/)
**Quantico.** In 2015 McLaughlin was cast in the series-regular role of FBI agent Ryan Booth on ABC's espionage thriller *Quantico*, opposite [Priyanka Chopra](https://www.edgepedia.org/priyanka-chopra). He starred in all 57 episodes across the show's three seasons, from 2015 to 2018, playing an elite black-ops operative working alongside Alex Parrish.[3](https://www.looper.com/1158293/why-michael-from-will-trent-looks-so-familiar/) • [8](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/gloucestertimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/66/c6648b96-4c81-11e8-bd49-ab5f3cb1cd57/5ae72b5c96f3e.pdf.pdf) His ABC biography describes him as best known for the role.[7](https://www.dgepress.com/abc/bios/jake-mclaughlin/)
**Will Trent.** Since 2023 McLaughlin has played Detective Michael Ormewood, an Atlanta police detective, in ABC's *Will Trent*, adapted from [Karin Slaughter](https://www.edgepedia.org/karin-slaughter)'s bestselling novels. He is a main-cast member alongside Ramón Rodríguez, Erika Christensen, Iantha Richardson, and [Sonja Sohn](https://www.edgepedia.org/sonja-sohn).[4](https://abc.com/shows/will-trent/about-the-show/1000)
The role has given him a long character arc rather than the two-episode turns he was used to. In the season 3 finale, Ormewood's storyline ended on a cliffhanger involving a brain tumor and a sudden collapse; McLaughlin said he had known the broad strokes in advance from showrunner Liz Heldens but not the character's ultimate outcome.[9](https://www.tvinsider.com/1192001/) Season 3 also moved the character toward humor and closer fatherhood after his divorce, something McLaughlin welcomed as a chance to change the trajectory of a character he had mostly played as serious.[10](https://www.tvinsider.com/1182207/will-trent-interview-jake-mclaughlin-michael-ormewood-faith-angie/) He is expected to return for the show's fourth season.[11](https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/will-trent-season-4-everything-we-know-about-the-series)
## Film work
Between television runs, McLaughlin has taken supporting and lead film roles. He appeared in *The Day the Earth Stood Still* (2008) as a soldier, in Gavin O'Connor's *Warrior* (2011) as [Mark Bradford](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-bradford), in [Oliver Stone](https://www.edgepedia.org/oliver-stone)'s *Savages* (2012) as Doc and Sniper, and in the [Denzel Washington](https://www.edgepedia.org/denzel-washington) action film *Safe House* (2012).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2474864/) • [5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jake-mclaughlin/) He was the lead of Franka Potente's directorial feature debut *Home* (2020), opposite Kathy Bates, playing Marvin Hacks.[7](https://www.dgepress.com/abc/bios/jake-mclaughlin/) More recent screen work includes the Apple TV+ limited series *Black Bird* (2022) with Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser, two episodes of *Yellowstone* (2024), the 2024 film *Last Night on Earth*, and the 2025 films *Black Diamond* and *Site*, in which he starred alongside Arielle Kebbel and Theo Rossi.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2474864/) • [7](https://www.dgepress.com/abc/bios/jake-mclaughlin/)
## Acting approach and military background as material
McLaughlin describes himself as closer to the [Meisner technique](https://www.edgepedia.org/meisner-technique) than to Stanislavski, drawing on personal experience rather than full immersion in character, and he calls life experience "the best acting class" he has attended.[12](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jsbac)
His military service has functioned as both credential and subject. His first role existed because a production wanted real Iraq veterans, and he has said he believes *In the Valley of Elah* offered an objective look at the Iraq veteran experience rather than a flatly antiwar one.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-14-et-valley14-story.html) In interviews he has drawn on the overlap directly: his *Will Trent* character is a combat veteran like himself, and he has told interviewers that shared background shapes his sense of humor about the role.[10](https://www.tvinsider.com/1182207/will-trent-interview-jake-mclaughlin-michael-ormewood-faith-angie/)
## References
1. [Jake McLaughlin (I), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2474864/)
2. [From combat-ready to ready on the set, Los Angeles Times (September 14, 2007)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-14-et-valley14-story.html)
3. [Why Michael From Will Trent Looks So Familiar, Looper](https://www.looper.com/1158293/why-michael-from-will-trent-looks-so-familiar/)
4. [About Will Trent, ABC](https://abc.com/shows/will-trent/about-the-show/1000)
5. [Jake McLaughlin, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jake-mclaughlin/)
6. ["Will Trent": Who Is Jake McLaughlin?, The Cheat Sheet](https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/will-trent-jake-mclaughlin-seen-movies-tv-shows.html/)
7. [Jake McLaughlin, ABC Press biography](https://www.dgepress.com/abc/bios/jake-mclaughlin/)
8. [Gloucester Daily Times, April 28 - May 4, 2018, page 14](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/gloucestertimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/66/c6648b96-4c81-11e8-bd49-ab5f3cb1cd57/5ae72b5c96f3e.pdf.pdf)
9. [What's Next for Michael Ormewood on "Will Trent"?, TV Insider (May 14, 2025)](https://www.tvinsider.com/1192001/)
10. ["Will Trent": Jake McLaughlin on Michael's Dad Mode Moment, TV Insider (March 18, 2025)](https://www.tvinsider.com/1182207/will-trent-interview-jake-mclaughlin-michael-ormewood-faith-angie/)
11. [Will Trent season 4: everything we know about the series, What to Watch](https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/will-trent-season-4-everything-we-know-about-the-series)
12. [Behind the Scenes with Jake McLaughlin on ABC's Will Trent, Dailymotion](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jsbac)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Mc to Mi*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license