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With “Landman,” Ali Larter is experiencing a level of success and popularity she hasn’t seen since the first season of “Heroes.” When the show first debuted in 2006, it was a massive hit, and transformed Ali Larter’s career from playing teen roles to more mature characters. But, there was drama behind the scenes. In a 2020 essay for Variety, Leonard Roberts, who played Larter’s husband on the superhero series, wrote about the issues he had with the “Landman” star and the creative minds behind the show, and how it led to him being fired from the hit series.
Roberts found Larter difficult to work with from the start, but tried to smooth things over by giving the actress a bottle of wine and a note that he hoped would ease the tension between them. Instead, things intensified. While rehearsing an intimate bedroom scene, Larter took issue with a request from the episode’s director, which led to what Roberts describes as a “intense and loud conversation.” Roberts later learned that Larter had previously filmed an intimate scene for the show with actor Adrian Pasdar and had no issues despite the two scenes being similar.
Before filming of the second season started, Roberts was told that his character would be killed off. Adding injury to insult, the show’s creator, Tim Kring, explained that the decision was made not because of anything Roberts himself had done, but because of Larter’s actions. Roberts, in his essay, suggests that his race may have played a part in how Larter responded to working with him.
Leonard Roberts detailed his experiences with Ali Larter
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After Leonard Roberts’ essay was published, Ali Larter released her own statement via TV Line, expressing her sorrow for what happened to Roberts. In her statement, Larter says that she remembers the events of working on “Heroes” differently, but does not directly dispute any of Roberts’ claims, instead saying “I respect Leonard as an artist and I applaud him or anyone using their voice and platform. I am truly sorry for any role I may have played in his painful experience during that time and I wish him and his family the very best.”
Ali Larter, who is married actor Hayes McArthur, was cast as Angela Norris in “Landman” three years after Roberts’ essay was released. Tim Kring has been hired to create a TV series based on “The Magnificent Seven” for MGM+. Roberts continues to work in TV and film, including appearing in the Disney+ series “Goosebumps” and in the Academy Award winning film “American Sniper.” And the most important thing to him, as he says in his essay, is doing what he can to ensure that his daughter grows up in a better world than he did.