Lara Flynn Boyle is reflecting on her journey to sobriety as her first film in four years, Mother Couch, is released this week.
She co-stars with Ewan McGregor and Lake Bell.
The 54-year-old Twin Peaks actress, who made headlines for years due to her drinking, says those days are long gone as she got sober five years ago.
“Those disco boots have had their moment,” Lara shared with People On Wednesday.
In 2018, the Daily Mail shared photos of Lara drinking from a bottle of Johnnie Walker while behind the wheel of her car in a Westwood car park.
Boyle did not comment on whether the photos made her want to stop drinking.
But she allowed: “Some people are allergic to it, some aren’t.”
Lara Flynn Boyle shared that she has been sober for five years. Without going into details about what led her to stop drinking, she told People: “Some people are allergic to drinking; some people aren’t.” Seen in 2017
Seen in the film Death in Texas in 2020. Now starring in her first film in four years with Mother Couch.
The Wayne’s World alum, who rose to fame as Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks in 1990, also revealed she has dealt with her own #MeToo experiences.
“I’ve been in situations that weren’t necessary,” Lara shared without naming names. “I’ve walked out of meetings and suffered repercussions for it. We’ve all been there.”
Although those moments were kept private, the Iowa native’s love life was exposed over the years, including her romance with Jack Nicholson, 87, 33 years her senior.
However, that relationship marked a turning point for Lara.
“I left with a bang as far as actors go. Then I was like, ‘Okay, I’m done,'” the Baby’s Day Out actress explained.
After that experience, Lara found her soul mate and married Texas real estate developer Donald Ray Thomas in 2006.
“I have a wonderful marriage,” she said enthusiastically. “We were together that night and we were together ever since.”
Despite everything she’s been through, Lara has never considered leaving the industry.
“I never wanted to retire,” she recalled to the outlet. “Anytime I was feeling down or sorry for myself, I made sure not to complain. My mother would sometimes bring me articles about other actresses to prove to me that I wasn’t the only one getting treated unfairly.”
“Those disco boots have had their day,” the Twink Peaks star confessed, six years after the Daily Mail published paparazzi photos of her drinking from a bottle of Johnnie Walker while behind the wheel of her car in a Westwood car park.
The Wayne’s World alum, who rose to fame as Donna Hayward in Twink Peaks in 1990, also revealed she’s had to deal with her own #MeToo experiences: “I’ve been in situations that weren’t necessary. I’ve walked out of meetings and had repercussions for it. We all go through that.”
For some, that “unfair treatment” might include ageism in the industry, but Lara doesn’t take it personally.
“What really ticks me off is when actresses talk about ageism in Hollywood,” Lara said. “Ageism is part of human nature. It’s not Hollywood’s fault. It’s everyone’s fault. Me included. I like looking at beautiful people in front of the camera.”
However, the actress confessed that she does not enjoy seeing herself on camera..
“If you want to call me Norma Desmond, go ahead,” she joked. “Whenever I see my reflection in a lens, I’m like, ‘Oh, cut.'”
However, people will soon be able to see the Red Rock West star on screen again, four years after his last film.
The star doesn’t consider her return to the screen as a comeback because, in her opinion, she never left. As she put it: “You don’t want an article to say, ‘Boyle’s second chance’ or ‘Look who’s back.’ I’m here.” Seen in Twin Peaks
Lara landed the role in the dark comedy Mother, Couch, which hits theaters July 5. The film also stars Taylor Russell, Ewan McGregor, Lake Bell, Ellen Burstyn and Rhys Ifans.
The film’s writer-director, Niclas Larsson, has been intrigued by Lara ever since he was a child reading tabloids in his mother’s hair salon in Sweden.
“The only kind of literature I was exposed to between the ages of 5 and 10 was gossip magazines,” he recalls. “And Lara was on the cover a lot.”
So when Niclas wrote the script, he immediately considered Lara as the… chain-smoking daughter who has little patience for the drama unfolding in a furniture store by her argumentative mother (Ellen).
Seen in Men in Black II in 2002
“I’m like, ‘What about Lara? What about the excellent actress Lara Flynn Boyle?’ I knew I needed someone who had been through something physically and mentally,” she said. “I don’t think anyone can imagine what it’s like to go through what a lot of women went through in the late ’90s and early 2000s.”
“The director actually likes to see her on screen,” she told People. “I put her in every movie I do. Let’s see how Mother, Couch does.”
“You have to promote yourself,” the icon said of managing expectations in Hollywood, “but then you have to sit back and wash your hands of it.”
But Lara doesn’t see this as a return because, in her eyes, she never left.
As she put it: “You don’t want an article to say, ‘Boyle’s second chance’ or ‘Look who’s back.’ I’m here.”
(tags to translate)dailymail