HEROES MAGAZINE
ISSUE 1
ALI LARTER - PAGE 6
Ali Larter was well-versed in playing butt-kicking heroines with a supernatural bent well before she was cast as Niki Sanders and her doppelganger Jessica, starring in House on Haunted Hill, Final Destination, Final Destination 2, and the upcoming Resident Evil: Extinction (filmed between the Heroes Pilot and beginning of production on the first season). Other acting credits include the films American Outlaws, Legally Blonde, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, while guest roles on series have included Suddenly Susan, Just Shoot Me, and Dawson's Creek. Born in New Jersey, Larter began modeling at age 13, a career that allowed her to travel the world. She came to Los Angeles, where her actress friend Amy Smart suggested Larter check out an acting class.
ALI LARTER: I was blown away that all of the emotions that you feel in life and all of the experiences that you have - there's somewhere to funnel them out, and once I experienced that, there was no turning back. I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life...
Ali Larter was well-versed in playing butt-kicking heroines with a supernatural bent well before she was cast as Niki Sanders and her doppelganger Jessica, starring in House on Haunted Hill, Final Destination, Final Destination 2, and the upcoming Resident Evil: Extinction (filmed between the Heroes Pilot and beginning of production on the first season). Other acting credits include the films American Outlaws, Legally Blonde, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, while guest roles on series have included Suddenly Susan, Just Shoot Me, and Dawson's Creek. Born in New Jersey, Larter began modeling at age 13, a career that allowed her to travel the world. She came to Los Angeles, where her actress friend Amy Smart suggested Larter check out an acting class.
ALI LARTER: I was blown away that all of the emotions that you feel in life and all of the experiences that you have - there's somewhere to funnel them out, and once I experienced that, there was no turning back. I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life...
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HEROES MAGAZINE: Have you ever wondered, watching from out of the corner of your mind, if your mirror image is doing something different than you are?
ALI LARTER: Absolutely, but I know [feeling like Niki feels with Jessica] happens more with those moments where I feel like somebody's behind me. It's like when you sense energy or you sense someone's watching you and then there's no one there, but it kicks you in your gut for a minute. That's more the thing that I've felt.
Had you ever wanted to be or play a superhero?
To be honest, I still don't think of [Niki] like that. I mean, it is a superhero story, but for me, it's just really ordinary people who are living their lives and realizing that something's happening to them. I think people want to be special - at least, I know I do. It's that quest of understanding who you are, and I think that's where heroism and people's love for superheroes comes in, is that desire to be different, be unique. So I've never said, "Oh, gosh, I want to play a superhero," but I think that it's really an interesting concept. I never thought that much about the sci-fi aspect of it. For me, it's just about a mom trying to get by and people who are after her and her world is just crumbling around her.
How do you like playing a mom?
Noah [Gray-Cabey, who plays Micah] is such an open, amazing little guy, so responsive and really just present with me and delightful to work with. But one of the things that drew me to this role was, she just wasn't a stay-at-home mom. She speaks to her son about the problems of life, she speaks to him almost on a level that he's also an adult. He steps up in that way and it's kind of a confused relationship and she's not always the greatest mom - she's just doing the best that she can at this present time.
• For interviews with the entire cast of Heroes, check out the first issue of the brand new magazine - on sale now.
