NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n\n- \n\n
Ali Larter is reminiscing about her role in Varsity Blues, more than two decades after the film premiered<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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Speaking to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview, Larter said it was “a feel good movie”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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Still, she wanted to use the role to showcase her character’s “vulnerability,” she said<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Ali Larter<\/a>\u00a0is reminiscing more than two decades after the release of the hit teen 1999 sports drama,\u00a0Varsity Blues.<\/p>\nSpeaking to PEOPLE for an exclusive interview ahead of the second season of Paramount+\u00a0series Landman<\/a>, Larter, 49, said that the movie helped pave the way for all her projects since.<\/p>\n“Varsity Blues is what began it all, and it was a really feel good movie … I think it was a simpler time in a way and I think that, again, it was a feel good movie, but I love that even for Darcy, I was able to show her vulnerability,” Larter said of her character in the movie. “This was a girl who was trying to find her way out and then you see her deeply embarrassed and crying over the choices that she’s made for herself as a young girl.”<\/p>\n
Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\nVarsity Blues\u00a0revolved around a high school football team and the tough coach who would do anything to win.\u00a0James Van Der Beek<\/a>\u00a0starred as Mox, the quarterback of the team who stands up to his abusive coach, played by\u00a0Jon Voight<\/a>.<\/p>\nLarter is featured in one of the film’s most famous scenes, in which her character tries to seduce Van Der Beek’s Mox while wearing nothing but a whipped cream bikini \u2014 even though his character is dating another woman, played by Amy Smart<\/a>.<\/p>\nLarter told PEOPLE: “Look, for me as a woman, for every role that I’ve ever been in, I always try to find that centerpiece in them that makes them break or that’s driving them because usually, it’s what’s not in the script, I’m going to try to figure out how to bring it into the movie.”<\/p>\n
Larter currently stars as Angela Norris in Landman\u00a0\u2013 created by Taylor Sheridan \u2013 which exploded on Paramount+ in November 2024, becoming the platform\u2019s biggest premiere in two years. The TV drama dives deep into the gritty, high-stakes world of the Texas oil industry, drawing inspiration from the acclaimed\u00a0Boomtown\u00a0podcast.<\/p>\n
![\"Paramount](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/jwvWCvUoT6P8t9Itn9tpOA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/people_218\/991ef0beab27a698b8bad4b5a41b8462\"\/)
<\/span><\/div>\n\nParamount<\/p>\n
Ali Larter, Varsity Blues<\/p><\/div>\n
Larter’s character is the playful and seductive on-again, off-again wife of\u00a0Billy Bob Thornton<\/a>‘s Tommy and she’s faced criticism over how sexual her storylines and costumes have been onscreen.<\/p>\nAs Larter told\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>, “Nobody\u2019s putting me in a position that I\u2019m not comfortable being in.”<\/p>\n
Ali Larter is reminiscing about her role in Varsity Blues, more than two decades after the film premiered<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
Speaking to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview, Larter said it was “a feel good movie”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
Still, she wanted to use the role to showcase her character’s “vulnerability,” she said<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Ali Larter<\/a>\u00a0is reminiscing more than two decades after the release of the hit teen 1999 sports drama,\u00a0Varsity Blues.<\/p>\n Speaking to PEOPLE for an exclusive interview ahead of the second season of Paramount+\u00a0series Landman<\/a>, Larter, 49, said that the movie helped pave the way for all her projects since.<\/p>\n “Varsity Blues is what began it all, and it was a really feel good movie … I think it was a simpler time in a way and I think that, again, it was a feel good movie, but I love that even for Darcy, I was able to show her vulnerability,” Larter said of her character in the movie. “This was a girl who was trying to find her way out and then you see her deeply embarrassed and crying over the choices that she’s made for herself as a young girl.”<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n Varsity Blues\u00a0revolved around a high school football team and the tough coach who would do anything to win.\u00a0James Van Der Beek<\/a>\u00a0starred as Mox, the quarterback of the team who stands up to his abusive coach, played by\u00a0Jon Voight<\/a>.<\/p>\n Larter is featured in one of the film’s most famous scenes, in which her character tries to seduce Van Der Beek’s Mox while wearing nothing but a whipped cream bikini \u2014 even though his character is dating another woman, played by Amy Smart<\/a>.<\/p>\n Larter told PEOPLE: “Look, for me as a woman, for every role that I’ve ever been in, I always try to find that centerpiece in them that makes them break or that’s driving them because usually, it’s what’s not in the script, I’m going to try to figure out how to bring it into the movie.”<\/p>\n Larter currently stars as Angela Norris in Landman\u00a0\u2013 created by Taylor Sheridan \u2013 which exploded on Paramount+ in November 2024, becoming the platform\u2019s biggest premiere in two years. The TV drama dives deep into the gritty, high-stakes world of the Texas oil industry, drawing inspiration from the acclaimed\u00a0Boomtown\u00a0podcast.<\/p>\n Paramount<\/p>\n Ali Larter, Varsity Blues<\/p><\/div>\n Larter’s character is the playful and seductive on-again, off-again wife of\u00a0Billy Bob Thornton<\/a>‘s Tommy and she’s faced criticism over how sexual her storylines and costumes have been onscreen.<\/p>\n As Larter told\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>, “Nobody\u2019s putting me in a position that I\u2019m not comfortable being in.”<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n