Ali Larter is speaking candidly about body image, insecurity, and the quiet mental toll that comes with being asked to bare it all on screen. The 49-year-old actor stars as Angela Norris on Landman, a role that frequently places her character in revealing scenes. While Angela moves through the world with fearless confidence, Larter admits that filming bikini scenes is emotionally taxing and far from empowering.
“I don’t think there’s an actress alive that’s like, ‘Woo! Got a bikini scene!’ Nobody wants to do it,” Larter told People. “Those are the hardest for me. I don’t enjoy them. It’s just part of the story that I’m telling, and I’m an actress, so I get on board. But those are definitely my least favorite. But no matter what, it’s like, I’ve got to spend all this time fighting off my own insecurities, my own anxiety, to be able to put on that bikini and walk into these scenes.”
Her comments cut through the illusion that confidence automatically comes with experience, success, or physical fitness. Even seasoned actors, Larter suggests, are not immune to the internal scrutiny that comes with being viewed, judged, and frozen on camera.
That pressure is compounded by the reality that maintaining a “camera-ready” body requires constant discipline. Larter has never pretended otherwise. “I work really hard, okay? I’m not pretending that I don’t,” she said previously. “I’m up at 4:30 (am) on Mondays. I go for a run. It’s only 30 minutes.”
She adds, “I try to eat very clean, but I eat. I’m one of those protein mommies. I eat so much protein, all day long. It works for me.”
Still, physical preparation does not erase self-doubt. Larter’s honesty highlights a larger truth about body image in Hollywood. The work is not just physical. It is psychological. Ironically, the character she plays embodies the freedom Larter herself continues to work toward.
“Angela walks through life without the fear of judgement of others. She makes up her own rules,” Larter explained. “And for me, that’s so exciting to play, because I’m not like that.”
That contrast is what makes the role both challenging and liberating. Angela exists without apology, while the actor portraying her must navigate an industry that still places intense scrutiny on women’s bodies at every age.
Off-screen, Larter admits she connected enough with the character to take a few tangible pieces of her confidence home.
“I took the Leddy’s cowboy boots, and I have the Agent Provocateur bra from episode seven,” she said. “What else did I steal from her? Oh, a good pair of Wranglers. I have some jeans. Got to have them.”
In the end, Larter’s reflections are less about discomfort and more about visibility. They reveal how body image anxiety persists even at the highest levels of success and why honesty about that experience matters.
If Angela Norris represents what it looks like to live without fear of judgment, Ali Larter’s openness shows how much courage it takes to admit that fear still exists.
All seasons of Landman are currently streaming on Paramount+.
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