From NBC’s “Heroes” to hit films like “Varsity Blues” and “Final Destination,” actress Ali Larter has connected with audiences in a career that spans genres and generations. With the explosion of Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ universe, the Oscar-nominated writer/director has crafted some of the most compelling female characters in all of streaming television.
Larter saw immense opportunity with the role of Angela Norris, a character that represents everything Sheridan does best with his female protagonists: complex, wounded, vulnerable, and powerful all in the same breath. Larter explained, “To have all those different sides and be able to show them is incredible. That was what made me go, “‘I have to do this.’”
After three intense rounds of callbacks and screen-testing against ten other actresses, Larter secured what would become one of her most challenging and rewarding roles to date.
“Landman,” created by Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, explores the volatile world of West Texas oil speculation. The series delves into the social circles and dangerous lives of roughnecks. Meanwhile, billionaire owners and upper level management are caught between the crosshairs of workplace disasters and criminal associates.
Billy Bob Thornton plays Tommy Norris, an oil company’s crisis manager who gets increasingly in-over-his-head throughout season one. As his world tumbles, Tommy and Larter’s Angela consider rekindling their romantic relationship after years of being divorced with two children.
After their marriage crumbled amid a devastating oil bust, Angela looked for a safe, secure partner to help raise the children from her marriage to Tommy. “She found a way to take care of them,” Larter says. “Then, a decade later, she realizes this isn’t a life worth living.”
Larter’s work as Angela serves at the emotional center of this masculine world, electrifying each scene with Thornton, balancing heart, human drama, and comedy as this couple reconnects. Their complex relationship – divorced but never truly disconnected – anchors much of the show’s emotional weight.
Awards Focus spoke with Larter about her intensive audition journey for “Landman,” her dynamic with Billy Bob Thornton, and the “reverse engineering of the trophy wife.”
Awards Focus: What was the casting process like? When the sides first came to you, what was your initial reaction?
Ali Larter: I had to audition three times before I screen tested for this role, so it was many months in the casting process. I had incredible respect for Taylor because I loved “Wind River” and “Sicario.” His storytelling is incredibly powerful and unique, and I love the women in his shows.
When I started auditioning and I got to the scene in the third episode where you realize that she’s trying to put her family back together, I really understood this woman’s motivations. She is always playing a character and turning it on for the world, and then Taylor wrote the scene where she’s crumbling and vulnerable. To have all those different sides and be able to show them is incredible. That was what made me go, “I have to do this. I want to embody this woman.”
AF: How did you build a rapport with your co-stars in this ensemble?
Ali Larter: We had a big cast dinner and I met Billy for the first time. We talked about the things that we liked and the things that we were bumping on in the story. We also started to try to get to know each other, to figure out what our connection was, because you know you don’t just have chemistry with someone. You have to cultivate these things and be willing to reveal yourself.
We were talking about experiences in our own lives to be able to show history within these characters, because you need to believe that they’ve been through it all. You can have all these fun, colorful, amazing scenes, but if it’s not built on this truth that we had to find and create together, then it wouldn’t work. We really felt like these people had that first love that you never let go of and that they really saw each other.
There’s no judgment of how either of them behave – how dark and dangerous his life in his world is, and how vulnerable and emotional this woman is. When we found that, we knew that we’d found the thing that tied them together.
AF: Do you feel like when the Oil Bust happened and the marriage deteriorated, the trauma drove Angela to be in a relationship where wealth was abundant?
Larter: One hundred perfect, Angela is a woman who comes from poverty. She didn’t have the chance to go to college. She didn’t have parents that loved her and guided her. When she lost her husband and had these two young children, she found a way to take care of them. Then, a decade goes by and she realizes that this isn’t a life worth living. It’s the reverse engineering of the trophy wife. She lets go of this extravagant lifestyle to go back to the man that she loves to try to heal her family. That’s the essence of her.
AF: You take the character to fun places but also really emotional places. The banter is so enjoyable, but she has some very real moments.
Larter: I fight for those moments. Taylor loves her bold and loud and laughing and dancing. He’s always pushing me. I loved to do that, but you have to see the other side of her. There are moments when you really see her. You see how much she loves her ex-husband, how much she wants to heal her family, and all of the things she does to bring joy back into the world. When she’s with the old folks, she’s just disgusted by the way that they’re being treated. She doesn’t care what other people think about her, so she starts going in there and bringing them fun and laughter and joy. That whole storyline is so fun and interesting because it gives her a calling in life.
AF: How do you feel about the relationship with the kids? What did you kind of create in your own backstory that might not be evident on the screen?
Larter: We use who we are, and then we connect that with the character. When we all met, I spent a tremendous amount of time with Michelle (Randolph) who plays Aynsley (her daughter). We lived in the same apartment building, went to yoga together, had dinner together and drank wine together. She was my little mini-me. We have a lot of fun together, but we also cry a lot together. We’re very honest and open with each other. We built that relationship, so you can feel that on the screen. Even if certain things aren’t in the dialogue, we’ve created these relationships so that you believe them.
AF: What about your relationship like with Jacob Seth Lofland who plays her oil-worker son, Cooper Norris?
Larter: Those eyes, he kills me. I always want to take care of him no matter what. I naturally have this mothering side of wanting him to be safe. I want to bring him back to us. Angela feels guilty for a lot of things, and Connor is a little bit standoffish. It’s going to be a bit more work to heal that relationship.
AF: Jerry Jones, the NFL owner of the cowboys, was amazing in his hospital scene. What was your take on that performance?
Larter: Wasn’t he amazing? The way he talked about family and how he constantly brought his family into his business. I thought it was so beautiful, and so on point for what the heart of our show is, which is the family unit.
AF: Where are we with season two and how do you about the feedback from season one?
Larter: You won’t have to wait too long, and we’re all just so excited. We knew we were making something special because everyone gave 110% to this show last season. There were definitely challenges, but we all found a way to put any kind of struggle into the scenes and into the story.
But the way that audiences have connected to it and families that watch… it’s really cool to me. The kids, the parents, the grandparents – everyone finds something. I love the way Taylor really mixed together so many tones in the show. That’s something that makes it very special.