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ALI LARTER IS OBSESSED (APRIL, 2009)
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Ali Larter (Heroes) stars as the latest and greatest femme fatal in Sony's Obsessed, alongside Beyonce, Jerry O'Connell and Idris Elba. Following in the footsteps of classic films like The Hand the Rocks the Cradle and Fatal Attraction, Obsessed centers around Derek Charles (Idris Elba), a successful asset manager who has just received a huge promotion, is blissfully happy in his career and in his marriage to the beautiful Sharon (Beyonce Knowles). But when Lisa (Ali Larter), a temp worker, starts stalking Derek, all the things he's worked so hard for are placed in jeopardy. |
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Ali Larter calls Allentown a 'safe haven' from stardom
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Ali Larter knows how to play the baddest bad girl this side of Sharon Stone: Push yourself to your emotional, physical and mental limits -- and then lit it rip.
While shooting ''Obsessed,'' a charged-up erotic thriller in the guilty-pleasure tradition of ''Basic Instinct'' and ''The Last Seduction,'' Larter was simultaneously filming TV's ''Heroes,'' which translated into 12-hour work days, seven days a week.
''It took me to a place of such extreme exhaustion,'' she says. ''But it also made me raw. It forced me to stay in the moment.''
Once ''Obsessed,'' which co-stars Beyonce Knowles, was in the can, and ''Heroes'' went on hiatus, Larter headed back to her favorite oasis: the Lehigh Valley. The actress was born and raised in Cherry Hill, N.J., but ever since her parents moved to Upper Macungie Township 10 years ago, she's called it her home away from home.
''My parents' house is a little safe haven for me,'' says Larter, whose father Danforth is vice president of sales and marketing at Dart Transit and whose mother Margaret is a Realtor for ReMax 100 out of Bethlehem.
''[The Lehigh Valley] is a good place for me to relax. My parents live in such a nice area so when I'm home, I get up early and go out running every morning. But my favorite thing to do is snuggle on the floor with our dog, hang out with my Dad and watch movies.''
While Larter says she's been known to grab a burger at Looper's or pick up a sandwich at Wegmans, her favorite Lehigh Valley haunt is the Moravian Book Shop.
''Over Christmas last year, I took my grandmother to Bethlehem and it was so wonderful,'' she says. ''We went to the Hotel Bethlehem and the Moravian bookstore, which I love.''
Larter knew as soon as she read ''Obsessed'' how demanding it would be but she was hellbent on playing the movie's cold-hearted stalker, a slinky snake in high heels who'll stop at nothing to get what she wants.
''I was so excited about being asked to portray a femme fatale,'' says the actress, 33. ''Aren't they the most complex, dramatic women in movies? 'Obsessed' is really a homage to sexy thrillers like 'Single White Female,' 'Fatal Attraction' and 'The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.' ''
Like the identity-stealing, rabbit-boiling, child-snatching vixens of those earlier films, Larter's Lisa Sheridan is bad to the bone. From the minute she struts into the very-married Derek Charles' (Idris Elba) office in a fitted Gucci pencil skirt, you know she's up to no good.
A flirtation gives Lisa the wrong idea about Derek's availability and soon she's wigging out in grand style. The one thing Lisa doesn't count on is that Derek's wife Sharon (Beyonce) is not the shrinking violet she appears to be.
''I just hope people have fun watching 'Obsessed.' I can promise you that you're not going to be bored. And it has me and Beyonce in a cat fight -- so what more do you want?'' says Larter with a chuckle.
After three seasons on ''Heroes'' as the butt-kicking Niki Sanders (and her alter egos), Larter has no trouble defending herself. Still, before production began on the movie, Larter and Knowles spent a week choreographing every punch, kick and hair-pull.
''Ali was incredible,'' says Knowles. ''Such a smart woman, very articulate -- a great actress. And during the fight scenes she gave me so much to work with. We just had fun. It's great when you're on a film and you can just really go for it. I trusted her and she trusted me, and I think that's why the fight scene is so great.''
Asked who'd win in a real-life scuffle, Larter laughs and says, ''I would, sure. I could take her.''
Larter comes by her athleticism naturally. Growing up in Cherry Hill, she and her sister walked every day to school, the family dog by their side. After classes, Larter would play soccer and softball, often for teams her father coached.
Despite being a beauty, Larter claims she wasn't one of the popular kids at Cherry Hill West High School. In fact, an unrequited crush on a fellow student helped fuel Larter's ''Obsessed'' performance.
''I drew on those nights when I'd sit by the phone waiting for it to ring,'' she says.
Larter didn't sit around waiting for long. At 13, she was discovered in Philadelphia by a modeling agent. She aced a Philadelphia Phillies commercial and quickly signed with the Ford Modeling Agency, which sent her all over the world on photo shoots.
''All of sudden, I had this introduction to an extremely exciting world,'' says Larter. ''I was meeting people from different cultures. It was like a drug to me Â… It sent me on a journey that I'm still on today.
''And the fact that my parents encouraged me, while keeping a watchful eye, is one of the reasons I'm still working today, and managed to survive in this business.''
In 1999, Larter landed her first co-starring role in ''Varsity Blues'' and she's been going strong ever since, co-starring opposite Reese Witherspoon (''Legally Blonde''), Geoffrey Rush (''The House on Haunted Hill'') and Colin Farrell (''American Outlaws.'')
''It's crazy that I'm considered to have longevity at this point,'' says Larter. ''But, I guess that's true. I'm so glad I'm not stuck playing boring, hum-drum women. I get to mostly play women who inspire me.''
Offscreen, Larter's life is running smoothly. She has more work than she can handle, two dogs she adores -- Wheaten terrier Eleanor and rescue German shepherd Jackpot and an impending wedding to long-time boyfriend Hayes MacArthur.
''I'm pleased with 'Obsessed,' I'm going off to shoot a new movie with Ed Burns called 'Stoolie.' I'm getting married. Life is in a bit of a sweet spot.''
Amy Longsdorf is a freelance writer.
Jodi Duckett,
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Oct. 2 -- 'Heroes' stars Ali Larter, Hayden Panettiere and Sendhil Ramamurthy aren't yet recognizable names, but chances are they soon will be.
The new NBC sci-fi drama won its time slot when it debuted last week, attracting a whopping 14 million viewers. On the show about ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities, Larter plays a single-mom making ends meet by working as a stripper, Panettiere stars as a high school cheerleader and Ramamurthy portrays a young professor on a quest to uncover the truth about his father's death.
The three chatted with AOL Television editor Geoff Bennett about their hot new show, the battle of good vs. evil and what they would do as real-life superheroes.
So, for the unacquainted, let's talk about your characters and how they fit into the show.
Ali Larter: Well, I play Niki Sanders and 'Heroes' is, I believe, about 10 people from all over the world who discover they have extraordinary abilities. And one of the things that really drew me to the show is that while these people are experiencing these changes, they have to deal with their day-to-day lives, such as getting the kids to school, paying their bills, trying to stay in a healthy marriage -- all these things that normal people have to deal with every day.
Hayden Panettiere: My character is Claire Bennet, and she is a normal teenage girl -- a cheerleader, who likes the quarterback of the football team. But she's also adopted, which is sort of a twist. But she's just a teenager going through normal teenage things, but there's this one huge thing that's very different about her.
Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder Suresh): I'm basically the narrator of the story. My character doesn't have super powers, per se, he's trying to put all of the information together and hopefully ultimately bring everyone together.
The mere idea of a show about people with superhuman powers -- well, the "cheese" factor seems pretty unavoidable. When 'Heroes' was pitched to you, what did you think?
Ali Larter: Reading the pilot script, I didn't even know what powers I was going to have or how that really fit in. For me, this wasn't really even a sci-fi show. It was about normal people who are in really complicated situations, and for me it was just an incredible challenge to delve into this world. Sendhil Ramamurthy: For me, I think when this project was presented, it was presented as a character-driven show. It's about what these people are going through in their lives. It's not about every five minutes, somebody's going to be flying or walking through a wall or whatever. That's what kind of drew me to the project as a whole. If this had been a show about powers and that kind of thing, I don't know how it would be done on a TV budget.
Ali Larter: It's a human drama.
Sendhil Ramamurthy: Exactly. And as far as my character goes, [series creator] Tim [Kring] has given me some amazing words. That's the best part about my character is what I get to say. He writes me poetry.
Sendhil, your character is a genetics professor. I'd imagine with that kind of background, there's only so much you can fake. What did you do to prepare?
Sendhil Ramamurthy: I did preliminary research on genetics and basic biology stuff, but as far as character work, I just tried to approach it from this guy's journey. His father has been murdered and he wants to find out who killed him. And he wants to find out if his father's research is true, and he's slowly finding out that it is.
Hayden, of all the characters, your power -- being indestructible -- is by far the most extreme. Hayden Panettiere: Yeah. (Laughs) I'm constantly dying. It's always a lot of fun. I don't want to say too much because I think it's exciting to watch it. I've worked with a lot of body pieces, a lot of stunt work -- but it's all been a blast. But there's lots of blood. Lots of blood. But in a lot of ways, I think it's almost dry humor in a way. I remember watching people's reactions during the scene when Claire threw herself off the rock quarry in the pilot, and people laughed! I didn't know what to expect, but people were cracking up. It's comedy in a way.
And Ali, your powers of split consciousness seem like they could go either way. Is it a battle of good and evil?
Ali: I think that what's great about the show is that it's not living in such strict stereotypes. And I don't think anyone's just good or just evil. What's interesting to me is that I think that both sides live in all of us. And sometimes, one side gets more control. And I think that's something we're going to explore with my character. She's put in certain situations that are so contradictory.
Sendhil Ramamurthy: I think that's the coolest thing about Ali's character -- that she gets to do that. Nobody's all good or all bad. It's the situation that informs it.
It seems as each of the character's paths cross, this could end up like 'X-Men' or 'Justice League' -- like one big fighting team of superheroes. Is that the case?
Sendhil Ramamurthy: It won't really be that. We are slowly starting to cross each other's paths. I don't think it will be the type of thing that takes two seasons to get everybody together. I think a common goal will be figured out relatively soon.
What can fans expect for the rest of the season?
Ali Larter: Well, I am going to have to start dealing with this other side of my personality. And it's going to put me in situations where I may have to break the law. I'm going to deal with that and possibly the separating of my personalities and figuring out how to bring the two together.
And what is the significance of the solar eclipse that was so prominent in the first episode?
Sendhil Ramamurthy: Hayden?
Hayden Panettiere: You can do it Sendhil. It's all you, baby!
Sendhil Ramamurthy: The truth is -- we have no idea.
Hayden Panettiere: Yeah, we have no idea. (Laughs)
Sendhil Ramamurthy: It's going to be explained. But we're in the middle of episode four right now, and we have some hints, but we don't have the answer yet.
Hayden Panettiere: At the moment, it appears as something that unites all of us because no matter where you are in the world, we are all looking at it.
Sendhil Ramamurthy: It's some sort of catalyst, but we have no idea what. (Laughs)
So Hayden, what would you do in real life if you had your character's powers?
Hayden Panettiere: (Sighs) What would I do? I don't know that I'd have the guts to kill myself like Claire does. I'd think about perhaps facing my fear of sharks. But I'm not sure I'd do that even if I knew I'd survive! (Laughs)
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DAVID: Let me ask the first question. What color is your hair tonight?
ALI: (laughs) Are you serious?
DAVID: Yeah. I saw you with different colored hair in every interview.
ALI: I'm back to my normal color, which is like brown and blonde. It was red for a movie I made called Next To You. I played a grunge girl. So I'm back to my normal color. Thank God. I want to say "Hi" to my sister Kristen. And that I love her so much. And I wish I were closer to her!
DAVID: Okay... let's take an audience question. |
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For Larter, simplicity is the key in all matters
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For Larter, simplicity is the key in all matters
By BETSY PICKLE
Scripps Howard News Service
February 04, 2003
When it comes to dying, "Final Destination 2" star Ali Larter hopes to keep it simple.
"I would just want to go in my sleep, and hopefully not before my parents," says the actress. "None of this elaborate death for me."
At 26, Larter hasn't had much reason to think about expiring except on the job. She was the only main cast member to survive the Grim Reaper in the 2000 hit "Final Destination," and she returns to do battle in "Final Destination 2," now playing in theaters.
It takes some coaxing, but Clear Rivers (Larter) risks her own life to help out a group of people who have survived a horrific highway pileup that takes place on the anniversary of the crash of Flight 180. As with Clear and her friends, who heeded a premonition and skipped the doomed flight, the strangers who so miraculously were spared the highway crash soon start dying in bizarre ways, and the rest of them want Clear to share pointers on evading Death.
"I think that they figured out the formula, and they just made all those death sequences bigger and better," says Larter.
Larter, who has appeared in nine films, beginning with the 1999 hit "Varsity Blues," initially had concerns about attaching herself to a sequel.
"I've changed on an emotional level," she says. "I've done different movies... But when it came down to it, I was totally flattered that New Line invited me back."
Although Tony "Candyman" Todd makes a return appearance as mysterious mortician Mr. Bludworth, Larter and Michael Landes ("Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman") are the only leads with familiar faces, and the burden of bridging the original and the sequel fell on Larter.
"There's definitely some (pressure) sitting on my shoulders," she says, but it doesn't bother her at all. "We brought this back for the fans of the first one. ... I think they're gonna be really happy with it. I believe in this movie. I think that people are gonna go and have a ton of fun."
Larter likes to focus on the positive side of things, probably because her still-married parents provided "a loving environment where it was impossible to fail." Born and reared in Cherry Hill, N.J., she started modeling at 13, traveling into Manhattan to work.
"My life moved a lot faster than most people in high school because I was going to New York City, and I was getting the experiences of being around all these people that had different views on the world," she says. "It was just so inspiring, on every level."
She skipped her senior year in high school and spent only one semester at college before returning to modeling, which she saw as a means to an end.
"I feel so lucky with my life," says Larter. "I was never one of those models that got involved in drugs. For me, it was about getting the opportunity to travel around the world.
Even when her movies don't turn out as well as she hopes - she mentions "American Outlaws" - the process makes them worthwhile.
"I have no regrets because I have no power over how a movie is going to be,"she says. "For me, it's about the experience of making the movie ... You can't look at the end result as being the culmination of your experience."
She can't name a favorite.
"Each one is amazing in different ways," she says. "When I think of 'Legally Blonde,' it was the first time that I got to play a character in that kind of big comedy, so that was really fun for me."
She tried a different kind of comedy in Kevin Smith's "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."
"I think he's hysterical, so working with him was really cool," she says.
Larter has moved back from Los Angeles to New York and is about to start shooting an independent film titled "The Tenants," which is set in 1970.
"I'm just starting to research that," she says. "It was such a revolutionary time. For me, I think that this ... may be really what I've been looking for."
She's convinced that her acting-career journey has taken just as long as it should have.
"I've kind of been figuring things out as I go along," she says. "But after I was in New York doing 'The Vagina Monologues,' I'm just - on a personal level and a creative level - ready to look a little harder and deeper." |
usa today article from the year 2000
« Thread Started on Jun 22, 2007, 9:04pm »
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By Stephen Schaefer, Special for USA TODAY
NEW YORK - Anyone who saw Varsity Blues and remembers Ali Larter as an
overenthusiastic high school cheerleader in a whipped-cream bikini might have
trouble placing her in this week's Final Destination.
"You mean the dark hair and bangs?" Larter, back in all her familiar blondness,
teases over coffee. "I didn't want people to look at me and think I was the
blond cheerleader. I wanted people to believe this."
"This" is Final Destination, directed by X-Files series veteran James Wong. The
movie stars Devon Sawa as Alex, who has a premonition that the plane his high
school French class is on will crash. He bolts, followed by a teacher, played
by Larter, and others. When the aircraft explodes after takeoff, the survivors
discover Death comes stalking each of them.
What kind of wacko movie is this, anyway?
"When I read it, I was doing House on Haunted Hill, and I was excited," Larter
says. "So many teen movies are fluffy. Sure, you can't take this too seriously;
it's a fun ride. It's got the best deaths of any movie I've seen, and it's
scary. But it makes you think about fate and destiny when you leave."
With two horror films to her credit, Larter says: "I'm not a big fan of horror
movies. . . . . But if you're in high school, you want to see other teens on
screen and get that rush from being scared. . . . Psychological thrillers are
something my parents can relate to."
Born in Cherry Hill, N.J., Larter credits her mother with getting her started.
Mom drove her into Manhattan to model at 13. "I'd been called Alison my whole
life, and when I started modeling, they called me Ali, and it stuck."
Five years ago she moved to L.A. and was in acting classes when she was hired
for an Esquire cover. "It was like another modeling gig," or so she thought.
But the 1996 cover billed her as Allegra Coleman, Hollywood's new "It" girl. It
was sheer fantasy, an invented "It" girl to show how nuts the media go over
celebrities. "No one expected it to be a big thing, but it became infamous,"
she says. "Hollywood got a kick out of it, and it gave me the opportunity to
get in the door."
Five years later, "I'm in such a different place. Now it's time for the fun to
begin." After four months filming Final Destination in Vancouver, British
Columbia, she headed to Allentown, Pa., where her parents live.
"Teen movies have been great for me, but I've decided to chill out a little and
wait for something else to come along. I've just turned 24 and would like to do
something closer to home and to express things that fit more naturally with my
life."
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bits and pieces 03/07 ny post
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BLOND bombshell types like actress Ali Larter don't stay single for
long. The "Legally Blonde" lovely was dating a New York financier but
broke up with him because, pals said, "they weren't going to get
married and she needed to be in Los Angeles for her work." Now Larter
is seeing Hayes McArthur, a wealthy actor wannabe with whom she openly
canoodled at the Chateau Marmont Saturday night. Also making the scene
at the Hollywood hotel were Lindsay Lohan, Matt Dillon, Harvey
Weinstein, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jimmy Choo queen Tamara Mellon,
who couldn't stop talking about the sex tape by her ex, Kid Rock. |
After word came in Sunday that his new pic "The Recruit" had won the box office, a tickled Colin Farrell told this column, "I'm not a fraud anymore. I did an $80 million movie with Bruce Willis and it only made $8 million opening weekend. I felt like a failure, but not anymore."
When asked about his relationship with pop princess Britney Spears, Farrell said, "I didn't steal anyone away from anyone, we're just mates, we went to an f-ing premiere together, that's it." The actor, who is still hoping to get his "Alexander the Great" film made with director Oliver Stone, also denied that he ever went out with Demi Moore.
When I asked the 26-year-old if he was afraid that after all his boasting about skirt-chasing women would only see him as a sex object, he replied, "Bring it on."
'FINAL' THOUGHTS: Her movie was a box office hit, but that doesn't mean "Final Destination 2" star Ali Larter didn't experience a few down minutes filming the horror flick. "You do a movie about the Grim Reaper, and it affects you," says the young actress. "I guess you do a lot of thinking about destiny--but I prefer to think about that in terms of love and not my real end credits." The single screen beauty says her destiny might be ABC-TV. "My sister who lives in Indianapolis is married and teaches sixth grade," she says. "She jokes with me that she's going to The Bachelorette' and ask them to put me on so I can find a man," says Larter, 27. Her next role is in a small indie film titled "The Tenants," which will start filming soon in New York.
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Age: 25
Born and raised: new jersey
She didn't come to LA to act: "I came out here for a boy but he left me high and dry. Then my girlfriend suggested I check out this acting class"
And the offers just kept rolling in: she's done a horror movie (House on Haunted Hill); a sci-fi thriller (Final Destination); and next up is a star turn in the wester American Outlaws. "I'm pretty good with a gun, actually. You like that, don't you? You're like 'Show me your tricks,baby!'"
Her birthday's coming up: "I'm just going to booze it up with my friends. Just sit back, smoke cigarettes, laugh all night, do alittle dancing and be surrounded by lurve."
Don't get carried away: "Listen, we're making movies here. We're not saving lives."
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AGE AND OCCUPATION: 25, actor
PROVENANCE: New Jersey
SHE HAD A MAGAZINE COVER BEFORE SHE HAD A MOVIE: Larter posed as fictional actress "Allegra Coleman" for Esquire. "It made Hollywood laugh at itself, William Morris was calling, saying 'Do we represent this girl' When it came out, the door opened and I dove in." Her fake introduction to Hollywood led to a role in Varsity Blues.
THIS SUMMER IS THE SUMMER OF LARTER: She appears in Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and stars in American Outlaws, with Colin Farrell, and in Legally Blonde, with Reese Witherspoon. "It's like Clueless. I'm an exercise queen who makes million of dollars on infomercials. It's over the top."
WHY WE WON'T BE SEEING HER ON THE WB ANYTIME SOON: "Agents try to push you towards television. Since day one I've refused. I don't want someone telling me what I'm going to be doing for the next six years of my life. It's a daily struggle in this business to stick true to what you want to do."
BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE MET WITH DAVID E. KELLEY: "I have been asked to lose weight before. I don't think Middle America would be unhappy if actors had ten more pounds on them. I think it's important to be happy in your own skin."
-KRISTA SMITH
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HEROES
MARIGOLD: AN ADVENTURE IN INDIA
CRAZY
OBSESSED
THE CAUSE WITH ALI LARTER
RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE
LEMON DROP (short film)
STOOLIE
