Lara Flynn Boyle, 54, talks getting sober 5 years in the past
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Lara Flynn Boyle is reflecting on her sobriety journey as her first film in four years, Mother Couch, is set to debut this week.
She costars with Ewan McGregor and Lake Bell.
The 54-year-old Twin Peaks actress, who was the subject of headlines over the years about her drinking, says those days are long gone as she got sober five years ago.
‘Those disco boots, they’ve had their time,’ Lara shared with People on Wednesday.
Back in 2018, the Daily Mail shared photos of Lara drinking out of a Johnnie Walker bottle while behind the wheel of her car in a Westwood parking lot.
Boyle did not comment on whether those photos caused her to want to stop drinking.
But she did allow: ‘Some people are allergic to it; some people are un-allergic to it.’
Lara Flynn Boyle shared she has been sober for five years. Without going into detail about what caused her to stop drinking, she told People: ‘Some people are allergic to it; some people are un-allergic to it’; seen in 2017
Seen in the film Death In Texas in 2020. She is now starring in her first film in four years with Mother Couch
The Wayne’s World alum – who rose to fame as Donna Hayward on Twin Peaks in 1990 – also revealed that she has dealt with her own #MeToo experiences.
‘I’ve been in situations that were not called for,’ Lara shared without naming names. ‘I’ve walked out of meetings and had repercussions for it. We all go through it.’
Although those moments were kept private, the Iowa native’s dating life was exposed throughout the years, including her romance with Jack Nicholson, the 87-year-old who is 33 years her senior.
However, that relationship marked a turning point for Lara.
‘I left with a bang when it came to actors. Then I went, “OK, I’m done now.”‘ the Baby’s Day Out actress explained.
After that experience, Lara found the one, marrying Texas real estate developer Donald Ray Thomas in 2006.
‘I have a lovely marriage,’ she gushed. ‘We were together that night and ever since.’
Despite all she has gone through, Lara has never considered leaving the industry.
‘I never wanted to bow out,’ she recalled to the outlet. ‘Any moment I was feeling down or sorry for myself, I made sure I did not complain. My mom used to sometimes bring me articles about other actresses to show me I’m not the only one getting a raw deal.’
‘Those disco boots, they’ve had their time,’ the Twink Peaks star confessed, six years after the Daily Mail released paparazzi shots of her drinking out of a Johnnie Walker bottle while behind the wheel of her car in a Westwood parking lot
The Wayne’s World alum – who rose to fame as Donna Hayward on Twink Peaks in 1990 – also revealed that she has dealt with her own #MeToo experiences: ‘I’ve been in situations that were not called for. I’ve walked out of meetings and had repercussions for it. We all go through it’
For some, that ‘raw deal’ could include the industry’s ageism, but Lara doesn’t take it personally.
‘The thing that gets my goat is when actresses talk about ageism in Hollywood,’ Lara confessed. ‘Ageism is human nature. It’s not Hollywood’s fault. It’s all of our fault. Myself included. I like looking at pretty people on the camera.’
But, the actress confessed that she doesn’t enjoy watching herself on camera.
‘If you want to call me Norma Desmond, go for it,’ she quipped. ‘Whenever I catch a reflection of myself in a lens, I’m like, “Oh, cut.”‘
However, soon enough, people will be able to see the Red Rock West star on-screen again four years after her last movie.
The star doesn’t view her return to the screen as a comeback because, in her eyes, she never left. As she put it: ‘You don’t want an article to read, “Boyle’s Second Chance” or “Look Who’s Back.” I’m right 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 since he was a child reading tabloids at his mother’s hair salon in Sweden.
‘The only type of literature I was exposed to between the age of 5 to maybe 10 was gossip magazines,’ he reminisced. ‘And Lara was on the cover a lot.’
So when Niclas wrote the script, he immediately pegged Lara as the chain-smoking daughter who has little patience for her argumentative mother’s (Ellen) unfolding drama at a furniture store.
Seen in Men In Black II in 2002
‘I’m like, “What’s up with Lara? What’s up with the excellent actor Lara Flynn Boyle?” I knew I needed someone who physically and mentally lived through something,’ he said. ‘I don’t think anyone can imagine what it is like to go through what a lot of women went through in the late ’90s, early 2000s.’
Because the director does, in fact, enjoy seeing her on screen, he noted to People, ‘I’m putting her in every movie I make. Let’s see how Mother, Couch goes.’
‘You have to promote yourself,’ the icon chimed in about managing expectations in Hollywood, ‘but then you have to sit back and wash your hands of it.’
But Lara doesn’t view this as a comeback because, in her eyes, she never left.
As she put it: ‘You don’t want an article to read, “Boyle’s Second Chance” or “Look Who’s Back.” I’m right here.’
