Tragic Details About Landman Star Ali Larter

Ali Larter's career trajectory shows her skyrocketing, thanks largely to her role as Angela in "Landman." The hit television drama about life on the oil rigs has thrust Larter into the spotlight, creating the impression that her life is literally perfect. As Larter's co-star, "Landman's" adorable Jacob Lofland, told The Hollywood Reporter that nobody could have imagined just how huge the show would really become. "I don't think any of us saw the reaction [coming], and how big it got. I don't think any of us could even fathom, and it's still kind of hard to," Lofland shared. Amid this raging success and professional achievement, it would be easy to believe that Larter's life was some kind of a fairy tale. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Since her television career first took off, Larter has survived some challenges — and created others. The actor has suffered a string of painful injuries that have affected her life both on and off-set. She has also endured mental health challenges, particularly during the quarantine periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the biggest tragedies surrounding Larter have pertained to the way she has dealt with life in the public eye — as well as her inability to interact politely with costars and colleagues.

Back in 2020, when the world was shutting down, Ali Larter found that "the new normal" was difficult to face. She may have self-isolated with her family in the ritzy LA neighborhood of Brentwood, but, as much as she enjoyed spending time with her partner and their kids, Larter missed her normal life. As if dealing with the pandemic blues was not hard enough, Larter actually broke her wrist during the quarantine. This injury prevented the actor from doing normal activities around the house — limiting her even more.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Larter opened up about her struggles in a recording that she shared on Instagram. "Feeling very much in The Matrix today ... I shower when I can't stand one more moment of laying in bed," she told her followers. She went on to discuss the injury's impact on her mental health, sharing that she was trying "not to lose my sh*t with a broken wrist."

Luckily, though, Larter realized that one of the best ways to improve her emotional state was by supporting a local charity. As she put it in the aforementioned recording, per the Mail, "I think about how I can help others because I feel so helpless every day." Larter then raised money for local kids through the Los Angeles Unified's "LA Student Most in NEED" campaign. She said the experience helped her find a "silver lining."

Ali Larter's pandemic-era wrist break was not the last serious injury to befall her. Prior to shooting "Landman," the actor experienced an unusual and "traumatic" accident that almost stopped her career in its tracks. Opening up about the incident to Entertainment Tonight, Larter recalled, "Two weeks before we left to go filming, I was at the treadmill class trying to get in shape, and ... so I was running, running, running." While treadmill workouts may be considered normal preparation for a role, they can also be very disorienting — a reality that Larter discovered the hard way.

"I went to let our puppy out of the car," Larter continued in the same interview with Entertainment Tonight, "I let the hatchback open. I had a hat on, and I hoisted her up. And, I cracked the corner of my head, and I went down to the ground with blood everywhere." This injury was not just extremely painful in the moment, but it also prevented Larter from going about her daily life for days. She had to remain in bed for a week in order to heal, and luckily, she was still able to go film "Landman" when the time came. That being said, the injury initially caused a lot of anxiety for Larter, who wondered if show creator Taylor Sheridan would cast another actor as Angela. She even wondered, "Is he going to fire me?" Ultimately, she kept her role.

Once it came time for Ali Larter to actually start filming "Landman," things should have improved for the actor. Instead, her string of painful injuries just continued. At one point, she even hurt herself on set. Looking back on this instance during an appearance on "Late Night with Seth Myers," "So, we had a scene this season where it was like, it's the end of the day, you know, we have a huge crew, it's high pressure. And, we are like rushing to get this shot." In this moment of truth, nothing could go wrong. Unfortunately, for Larter, that meant she had to bear the brunt of a very difficult moment.

"All of a sudden, I feel something crawling between my toes. And, I look down, and there are fire ants biting my toes," Larter recalled in the same interview. At the time, she felt that there was nothing she could do. She needed to film the scene and power through the pain, for fear she would be scolded for ruining the shot. Only after Larter was done filming the scene did she tell anyone what had happened. "Stephen Kay, our director, runs up. And, he's like, 'Ali, you were so emotional. You were so connected!'" The reality, though, was that Larter was crying out of pain. "There were welts on my feet," she added.

Ali Larter has made some serious waves in her role as Angela on "Landman" — although some fan reactions have been more positive than others. Since taking on the part in Taylor Sheridan's hit show, Larter has found that some viewers dislike the sexual element of her character. Interestingly, this has actually been something that Larter has enjoyed bringing to life. Discussing the character of Angela in a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Larter said, "She's very comfortable in her body and her sexuality. I love that Taylor writes for older women — women in their prime, that were still allowed to be alive!"

Sadly, though, not everybody has understood Angela's character. Many people have criticized Larter for making her role so sexual — an issue that has persisted as long as the show has aired. In the aforementioned interview, Larter said that she tries not to let the negativity get to her. "There's good press and bad press. That's challenging. I try to keep myself at arm's length from that and stay with the work," she explained. That being said, the actor also felt that it was important to clarify that she felt completely in-control of her on-screen role. Ali Larter's leggy looks and bold acting are her choice. "Nobody's putting me in a position that I'm not comfortable being in ... If there was something I was uncomfortable with, I wouldn't do it," Larter added. 

Because of Ali Larter's huge success in the realm of television, she had the opportunity to support other actors as they made their own way in the industry. Tragically, though, reports suggest that Larter has been resistant to helping others — and has even demonstrated micro-aggressions to Black co-stars. Writing for Variety, Larter's "Heroes" coworker, Leonard Roberts, claimed that the actor was cold to him on-set due to his race. She apparently ignored all of his efforts to create peace on-set, including a gift and a handwritten note.

In a scandal that tarnished Ali Larter's reputation, she reportedly bullied Roberts until the Black actor got cut from the show altogether. As Roberts recalled in the previously cited piece for Variety, "I received a call from Kring, my first ever. In a short voicemail message, he said that due to 'the Ali Larter situation,' when the show returned for Season 2, audiences would learn that [his character] had died." The development left Roberts in shock.

Larter later released a statement to Variety in which she said that her memories and Roberts' did not align. "I am truly sorry for any role I may have played in his painful experience," she said. The true tragedy here, however, is that Larter had the chance to make Roberts' time on the show wonderful. Regardless of her motivations, it's clear that it was an opportunity that she did not take.

A lot has been made of the "Landman" cast's real-life partners, but not everyone talks about their off-screen friendships — especially when it comes to Ali Larter. It is understood that the actor was friends with "Dawson's Creek" star James Van Der Beek, who sadly died in February 2026. During her time on "Varsity Blues," Larter got to know Van Der Beek quite well. Thus, when Van Der Beek succumbed to a brutal battle with colorectal cancer, the loss was difficult for Larter to bear. 

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Larter expressed her feelings on Van Der Beek's death. Visibly emotional, Larter shared, "My heart goes out to Kimberly and his six beautiful children. You know, he had such grace within him, and that's really what he gifted to the world." She once more emphasized the fact that James Van Der Beek's wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their kids were the ones facing the biggest brunt of the tragedy. "You know, my heart is with his family," she added.

Since Van Der Beek passed away, his family has reportedly suffered financial difficulties. As reported by the BBC, the actor's medical bills ate away at the family's savings, and online fundraisers were needed to pay their monthly mortgage. As it seems, for Larter to watch her co-star's family struggle so much in the wake of his death was absolutely heartbreaking.