At the beginning of his acting career, Landham was an actor in pornographic films. He then became a mainstream movie actor, and appeared in a number of popular Hollywood films, including Predator, 48 Hrs., Lock Up and Action Jackson.

Landham was born in Canton, Georgia. He is a descendant of the Cherokee and Seminole nations.

In 2003, Landham ran in the Republican Party primary election for the post of Governor of Kentucky, hoping to repeat the success of his Predator castmates Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He based his candidacy on opposition to an amendment which endorsed the Kentucky Family Court, saying his bad experiences at the hands of the family court had convinced him that it was run for the benefit of lawyers rather than families or children. He was unsuccessful in gaining the party's nomination. He ran briefly as an independent candidate, but withdrew on June 18, and endorsed the Republican slate.

In January 2004, Landham announced his candidacy for the 27th State Senate District of Kentucky.

In 2005, Landham spoke at a Council of Conservative Citizens convention. Landham has also appeared on the CofCC-affiliated radio show, The Political Cesspool.

In the Spring of 2006, Landham also accepted a bid as an honorary member of Alpha Sigma Phi, Beta Chi Chapter at American University.

On September 19, 2006, Landham was injured in a four-car accident in Ashland, Kentucky.

On June 25, 2008, Landham announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Mitch McConnell on the Libertarian line. The same day Landham called for genocide against Arabs and referred to them as "ragheads". His comments were made on the political radio show the Weekly Filibuster. Three days later, on June 28, the Kentucky Libertarians voted unanimously to withdraw Landham's nomination, citing his comments were not in keeping with the party's platform and values.