Who is Jonathan Loughran – and is he really cross-eyed?

Audiences may have noticed a familiar face in many of Adam Sandler’s, Happy Madison-produced movies. Actually, Sandler has had a small circle of recognizable faces who’ve frequently appeared in his movies, over the years. However, this one in particular belongs to actor and comedian Jonathan Loughran, who is oftentimes crossed-eyed for stand-out comedic effect.

But who is this guy and how did he end up in so many Sandler projects? And what is the backstory about his distinct eyes?

Who is Jonathan Loughran?

Although Loughran has had an impressive career, he prefers to stay out of the limelight. He was born on November 3, 1966, in Pillow, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Connecticut where he studied theater arts.

He eventually married his wife Kat Loughran on July 28, 2009, in a ceremony that actor and comedian Rob Schneider, another long-time Sandler friend, officiated. The couple has three children and is estimated to have a net worth of around 3 million dollars.

Loughran Meets Sandler

Loughran met Adam Sandler through their mutual friend Allen Covert, who is another actor-member of the let’s call it a “Sandler Squad.” Anyway, Covert met Sandler while working as the doorman at a comedy club. Well, everyone has to start somewhere, right?

Loughran and Sandler would go on to become lifelong friends. Loughran has worked with Happy Madison Productions on over 40 film projects, both as an actor and as Sandler’s personal assistant. Seems like Sandler’s and Loughran’s meeting all those years ago certainly paid dividends. Sandler’s even gone as far as naming a character in his film Hotel Transylvania after Loughran. Johnny is a human who falls in love with Dracula’s daughter.

Loughran Acting Credits

Loughran has acting credits independent from his friendship with Sandler. He appeared as Jasper in Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s 2007 Grindhouse-style movie, Death Proof. He also appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill as a trucker and had other small roles in Late Last Night (1999), National Security (2003), Get Smart (2008),

He also appeared on television, in two episodes of The King of Queens as the characters Patrick and Bobby. He’s also made appearances in the sitcom Undeclared, and the hit reality show Hell’s Kitchen.

What about Loughran’s Eyes?

Many of the characters Loughran has played have had a physical trait in common: crossed eyes. This was first seen in perhaps his best-known character, Lyle Robideaux in The Waterboy. This led many fans to speculate if Loughran has what’s known as strabismus, which is the medical term for crossed eyes. Johns Hopkins defines strabismus as a “misalignment of the eyes, causing one eye to deviate inward (esotropia) toward the nose, or outward (exotropia), while the other eye remains focused.”

Loughran’s eye muscles are not misaligned. They are stronger and more flexible than most, allowing Loughran to manipulate them better than the average person. He can create unique physical traits for his characters and Sandler has loved using this special skill in many of his films.

Another example of this is the character of Robideaux in Grown Ups 2. It seems this unique special skill has allowed Loughran to create a specific niche for himself in Hollywood and have a remarkable career.

He really is living the dream.