Ali Larter Responds to Backlash of Her Character’s Sexualization in ‘Landman’

Ali Larter is plenty comfortable in her own skin, regardless of what critics might think.

The 49-year-old actress plays Angela, the playful and seductive on-again, off-again wife of Billy Bob Thornton’s Tommy, in Landman. As the show’s first season aired last year, both she and her onscreen daughter, played by 1923‘s Michelle Randolph, faced criticism — as did creator Taylor Sheridan — over how sexual their storylines and costumes were onscreen.

The backlash was nothing worth worrying about for Larter, though, who told The Hollywood Reporter, “Nobody’s putting me in a position that I’m not comfortable being in.”

Larter knew she could trust the vision Sheridan had for the story about Texas oil as well as his path for her character.

She told the outlet she tries to “keep myself at arm’s length” when it comes to online reactions to her work.

“There’s good press and bad press. That’s challenging,” she said. Her bigger concern, though, is the “work.”

“This is Taylor’s baby. Anytime I would take my foot off the pedal, Taylor was on step. He wants her loud and emotional, like a tornado of energy,” she explained.

Instead of feeling self-conscious about the response to her Landman character, Larter felt empowered by the story.

“If there was something I was uncomfortable with, I wouldn’t do it,” she said. “What’s more uncomfortable is that people are so uncomfortable by their sexuality.”

“I’m also like, ‘Objectify me. C’mon,'” she told the outlet cheekily. “I have two children. I’ve been married for 19 years. I love playing this character.”

Larter’s approach to her flirtatious and confident character is similar to that of Randolph, who plays her onscreen daughter.

Randolph, 27, previously told PEOPLE it was “interesting watching the audience reaction” to her character because she’d been sitting with Ainsley for so long at that point that it was “old news.”

“It was like, ‘Oh, okay, we’re all going to process this again together,'” she said.

“I think being comfortable in your sexuality is something to be celebrated. If that’s what you feel as a human [and] aligns with who you are, then be authentically yourself. And that’s what she’s doing,” Randolph continued.

“She is 17, so I think as she gets older, she’ll put up more boundaries and understand the way the world works more. But as far as she’s concerned, right now, this is the way she’s been raised and she’s going to figure out if she thinks that’s right or wrong or she wants to change it,” the 1923 star said.

“I’m so proud of the show that we made, and so I just didn’t let myself have a perspective on what the audience thought.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Landman is available to stream on Paramount+.