'Copperhead' Casting Call: Jason Momoa and Miles Teller's Oklahoma Crime Thriller Wants Cowboy Bar Extras

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2026 — Oklahoma City residents with a cowboy hat in the closet have a shot at the big screen. Norman-based casting director Chris Freihofer has put out the call for extras to join the cast of Copperhead, Tulsa filmmaker John Swab's star-studded crime thriller now filming in the Sooner State — and the big scene needs honky-tonk regulars.

The production is looking for participants ages 21–70 to put on Western wear and appear as cowboy bar patrons in a scene set at a popular country and Western bar. The shoot needs people from about 3:30 to 8 p.m. on October 6 in Oklahoma City, per the Oklahoman. Interested participants should arrive in their own Western wear — couples and friends are welcome — and each participant will receive a parting gift from the film when the scene concludes. The exact time and location will be given to those who successfully register at copperheadfilm.com.

The full casting breakdown

The honky-tonk scene is the headline, but it is not the only work on offer. According to the full casting breakdown circulated by Freihofer Casting, the production is filling background roles across three shoot days this week. Monday, October 5 brings daytime filming with extras providing older cars — nothing new and nice, beat-up is fine, with an extra $25 in pay for anyone providing a vehicle. Tuesday, October 6 is the big bar night, filming late afternoon into the night: cowboy bar patrons (ages 35–75), bouncers, bartenders, cocktail waitresses and pool players. Wednesday, October 7 moves to a casino for gamblers at the slots and table games.

Pay is $110 a day for up to 10 hours of filming, with overtime at $15 an hour past that, per the casting breakdown. It is the latest in a string of calls for the production, which previously sought stand-ins matching the principal actors' height and build, and background players for taco-shop and storefront scenes in September.

A stacked ensemble, roles still under wraps

The draw is the cast. Copperhead stars Jason Momoa, Top Gun: Maverick and Whiplash actor Miles Teller, Tenoch Huerta (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Adria Arjona (Andor) and Primetime Emmy Award winner Kiefer Sutherland (24). Details on which characters the five will play have not yet been revealed — though the Oklahoman notes that Momoa and Arjona, the latter two names on the call sheet, are dating in real life.

What is known is the shape of the story. Written by Chad Feehan and J. Todd Scott, the crime thriller follows a veteran detective who joins forces with a young federal agent to unravel a conspiracy after an undercover drug deal explodes into violence in West Texas. The fuller casting breakdown frames it as a crime drama about an undercover deal that detonates into violence, unraveling corruption inside an elite task force — and forcing a young federal agent to rely on a veteran detective she doesn't trust. Swab, a Tulsa native whose homegrown productions have made him a fixture of the Oklahoma industry, directs; Thad Luckinbill, Trent Luckinbill and Bruce Franklin of Black Label Media produce.

Oklahoma's hot streak, by the numbers

Copperhead has pre-qualified for the state film incentive and is set to lens in the Sooner State until November 6, according to the recently updated Oklahoma Film + Music Office filming slate. The money attached is serious: the thriller carries an estimated production budget of $39.7 million, is projected to generate about $13.7 million in local expenditures, and is credited with an overall community impact of about $33.5 million, according to the Oklahoma City Economic Development Foundation.

The production arrives on the heels of a busy summer for Oklahoma's film and television industry. Filming on the sophomore season of Sterlin Harjo's acclaimed series The Lowdown, starring five-time Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke, wrapped in July in Tulsa; FX Networks recently announced that season 2 will premiere at 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 14, on FX and Hulu, coming to Disney+ internationally. For a state that has spent a decade building its incentive program into a genuine production draw, a $40 million feature with five stars and a week of open casting calls is the system working exactly as designed.

Our movies section is tracking every production filming in Oklahoma this fall, and the newsroom has more on the season's crime thrillers — including Netflix's chart-topping true crime.

A week of open calls

The honky-tonk scene is the week's centerpiece, but the production's casting net has been wide all month. Earlier breakdowns sought stand-ins to work closely with the camera and lighting crews beginning September 18, and a September 21–24 call filled taco-shop and storefront background roles — older cars and trucks included, the kind of lived-in vehicles that sell a hard-luck West Texas streetscape. That accumulation of open calls is a tell: Copperhead is building its world at scale, not just parachuting stars into a soundstage.

It is also the latest evidence that Oklahoma's incentive program keeps punching above its weight. With a $39.7 million budget, roughly $13.7 million in projected local spending, and a shoot running through November 6, the production is the kind of mid-budget feature the state's film office was built to land. The honky-tonk call is open to couples and friends, pays $110 a day, and comes with a parting gift from the film — and for anyone who has ever wanted to see how a John Swab set runs, Tuesday night in Oklahoma City is the invitation.