Click here to see photos of Ali Larter in “Obsessed,” “Heroes” and elsewhere
Remember when Ali Larter wore nothing but a whipped-cream bikini in the 1999 football movie “Varsity Blues?”
It was a rhetorical question. Of course you remember.
The actress has done a lot of good work since then, but the question seems to pop up whenever she’s interviewed.
But she’s a Jersey girl, which makes her not only tough and outspoken but a good sport, so she doesn’t walk out of the trendy Hollywood restaurant Ammo when the subject is brought up during this interview.
Did I mention that she was wearing only a whipped-cream bikini?
The 33-year-old- actress has moved on nicely since that auspicious movie debut, and she is not only one of the stars of the TV show “Heroes,” but she plays the psychotic “other woman” who is trying to break up Beyoncé’s marriage in the thriller “Obsessed,” which opens Friday.
Larter grew up in suburban Cherry Hill, was discovered at 13 as she walked down a Philadelphia street and broke into acting after a successful career as a Ford model.
Sipping iced tea on the hottest day of the year, Larter discussed the transition from modeling to acting, what it was like to duke it out with Beyoncé and, oh yeah, that whipped-cream bikini.
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER:How often do you play bad girls as opposed to good girls?
ALI LARTER: I’m afraid the scale is tipped toward the bad girls. But I’m really a sweetheart.
Q.What about in your real-life relationships? Are you ever the bad girl?
A. No, I’m not a crazy stalker, if that’s what you’re asking.
Q. But you like to play bad girls?
A.It’s so much fun to me. I love bad girls. I love to do things in acting that I can’t do in real life. It’s like living out the dark fantasies that go on in your head.
Q. Why do audiences like these characters?
A.These characters are in the vein of the classic femme fatales. I love being in the audience for movies like “Fatal Attraction” and “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.” These women are dark and crazy, and fun to watch.
Q. How did you have time to make a movie with your TV schedule?
A. The “Heroes” people worked with the film’s producers. I was able to shoot the show three days a week, and the movie four days a week for two months. I’m really lucky because most TV shows won’t do that.
Q.Where did you dredge up the darkness to play this character?
A. The challenge is in figuring out the clues to her delusion. What happened in her life to make her want to behave this way? You start connecting the dots.
Q. Do you ever seek out your own dark side?
A.Not really. The secret to playing an irrational character is that the character must believe that they are acting rationally. You can’t play crazy; you have to play truth.
Q.What do you mean?
A. She misinterprets what he says, and a normal rational person wouldn’t do that. Her behavior doesn’t add up, and I had to figure out ways to make her seem earnest. The goal is to make her appear believable.
Q. Did you like beating up on Beyoncé?
A. She’s fabulous and stunningly beautiful, and nobody works harder.
Q. Tell me about the fight scene.
A. That’s the most important scene in the movie so it has to work. We really went for it. It had to look real, but it also had to look as if we were having fun.
Q. Was the scene hard on you physically?
A.I always do a lot of stunts in my roles, but we also had some incredible stunt doubles. We spent five days just choreographing the fighting.
Q. Has your fiancé (actor Hayes MacArthur) seen the movie?
A. Not yet.
Q. Are you concerned that he may fear you after seeing you in this role?
A. I think he can handle it.
Q. “Fatal Attraction” scared a lot of men.
A. “Fatal Attraction” is the gold standard for these movies.
Q. Why do an updated version of it?
A. One of the fresh things we bring to the genre is modern technology. There are different kinds of intimacy that can be formed now with Blackberrys, texting and e-mails.
Q. Is that a good enough reason to make a movie so similar to a classic like “Fatal Attraction?”
A.I get a sense that people want to be entertained at the movies right now, and these movies are entertaining.
Q. And what makes obsessed stalkers so entertaining?
A. I think it’s the thriller aspect of the movie, not necessarily the stalker.
Q.Are you going to be back on “Heroes” next season?
A. Yes, with bells on. I love the show.
Q. Why were there so many media stories, Internet rumors and gossip about you not returning?
A. That’s Hollywood. Everyone tries to make a story out of nothing.
Q.So, you were always on board for another season?
A.As long as the show wants me to be a part of it, I’ll be on board. That’s the truth.
Q. Clear up something about being discovered at 13. Where were you when it happened?
A.I was walking in Center City Philadelphia with my family. A modeling agent handed me a card and told me to call if I was ever interested.
Q. Were you interested?
A.I was, and the first thing we did was we went home and my mom took pictures of me on our front lawn. I was this chunky little girl in a fluorescent pink sweater.
Q. You couldn’t have looked too bad if a modeling agent approached you on the street.
A. All I remember is that round, round face, and my body had a long way to go.
Q. So, you’re going to be one of those beautiful actresses who insist that she had an awkward period?
A.I don’t know of any woman who hasn’t had an awkward period.
Q. What kind of modeling work did you do?
A. In the beginning, I did a lot of Disney catalogs and commercials.
Q.Is modeling something you always desired?
A. Not at all. I was into sports.
Q. What did you like most about modeling?
A.The travel. It’s all about the travel. I saw the world.
Q. How did acting come out of modeling?
A. I was modeling for about five years, and I was supposed to go to NYU (as a broadcast journalism major) but I deferred a semester because I was traveling so much. I moved out here for a couple of months to do some modeling jobs and it came time to go to NYU.
Q.To study to become a TV weather girl?
A. No way. I wanted to be Diane Sawyer. I wanted to dig into the dark stuff. There is nothing light and fluffy about me.
Q. Sorry. We digressed. How did acting happen?
A. My best friend was Amy Smart, and I learned about acting from her. I started taking acting classes, and I had this revelation that acting was a place that I could put all the emotions that I was feeling.
Q.What was your first acting job?
A. It was on “Just Shoot Me.” I played a bike messenger.
Q. And then came “Varsity Blues?”
A. Yes. I got to work with Amy.
Q. Do you mind if I bring up the whipped-cream bikini scene?
A. Not at all. It was fun.
Q.Do you still hear a lot about that from the fans?
A. Some, but it’s mostly “Heroes” talk now.
Q. Do you like being on television?
A.At the beginning of my career, I didn’t want to do television because I didn’t want somebody to tell me where I had to be for the next six years. I’m spontaneous, and I don’t like people putting chains on me. But I feel differently now. I love the character, and I like feeling settled.
Q.Blond actresses aren’t always treated with respect in Hollywood. How does that jive with your Jersey upbringing?
A.I’ve probably been tougher than I need to be. I think I’ve had a chip on my shoulder at times, and that may have something to do with being from New Jersey.
Q. Why do people from Jersey have chips on their shoulders?
A. I have a theory about that. I think it’s because we don’t have a cool big city of our own, and we feel we have something to prove.
Q.Do people in Hollywood ever make the mistake of taking you lightly?
A. Five minutes with me, and people know I can deliver the goods.
Contact the writer: 714-796-5051, ext. 1110, or bkoltnow@ocregister.com
