A Landman Season 2 Scene Went Horribly Wrong For Ali Larter (And No One Realized)

Acting isn't always a cushy job. Sometimes, it requires one to suffer for their art, even if it's not by choice. Such is the case for Ali Larter, who had a scene go horribly wrong while filming the Paramount+ series "Landman." Created by "Yellowstone" head honcho Taylor Sheridan, whose personal life influenced Larter's character Angela, the show centers on oil riggers in Texas, with Billy Bob Thornton's Tommy Norris at the center of it all.

Larter recently appeared on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" to talk about the show. The actress, it turns out, had a rough experience while filming. "We had a scene this season where it was like, it's the end of the day, we have a huge crew, it's high pressure, and we are rushing to get this shot," Larter explained to Meyers.

The actress said they wanted to capture an "epic Texas sunset," but the problem with that is, there's only so much time to get it done. It's a narrow window. Given that Larter already thought she was going to get fired from "Landman" once before, she wasn't going to risk losing the shot. Even at her own peril. As Larter explained:

"I'm standing there in this wide open field, barefoot, jean shorts, and they're rushing, rushing, rushing, and I hear, 'Action!' And I'm standing there, and I'm looking at the horses, and all of a sudden I feel something crawling between my toes. And I look down and there are fire ants biting my toes."

Unfortunately for Ali Larter, before she could freak out or make it known to the crew, she could feel Billy Bob Thornton walking up behind her, ready to shoot the scene. "I'm like, 'I just have to live through this.' So I lean to him, and I go into the scene, and I do the scene with him, and all of a sudden I hear, 'Cut!'" Larter recalled. Series director Stephen Kay then approached the two of them, which is when she finally got to reveal what was going on.

"He's like, 'Ali, you were so emotional!' You were so connected!' And I was like, 'I'm crying because I was getting bit by fire ants!' And I was scared they were going to yell at me because they weren't going to get the shot!"

"It's crazy. I had welts on my feet. I mean, this show takes a toll on this bod," Larter concluded.

There are plenty of actors who have permanently damaged their bodies for roles. In some cases, that's because they trained too hard or decided to do a stunt that went wrong. Larter certainly didn't go into this wanting to stand atop an ant hill during an emotional scene, but nobody can doubt her commitment to the job; that's for sure.

Larter already had to go through a brutal audition process for "Landman" just to get the gig. But the show has been a big hit, with season 3 already in the works. One assumes that for any working actor, that probably makes it worth it. Or, at the very least, it helps to ease the sting.

"Landman" is streaming now on Paramount+.