Parker Posey: From 'Dazed and Confused' to 'The White Lotus'

Parker Posey as Darla in "Dazed and Confused" and as Victoria 32 years later in "The White Lotus"

"Alright you little freshmen bitches, Air Raid! That was horrible, you little freshmen sluts!" 

The year was 1993 and Parker Posey was just getting started. She played high-school senior Darla in Richard Linklater's stoner-movie classic Dazed and Confused. The seniors hazed the incoming frosh. The famous scene involved ketchup, flour, eggs and other food items doused on the youngsters.

Thirty-two years later Posey is co-starring in Season 3 of Mike White's luxury travel series, The White Lotus, at Max. She's Victoria Ratliffe, wife, mother and pill popper. So far, Victoria hasn't done much other than lay around, drink and eat, while her husband Timothy (Jason Isaacs) deals with some sort of work-related crisis. The cast also includes Michelle Monaghan, Carrie Coon, Leslie Bibb, Walton Goggins, Aimee Lou Wood, Natasha Rothwell and Patrick Schwarzenegger. New episodes stream on Sundays. 

Posey burst onto the movie scene in the '90s in roles that defined her as the "indie queen," especially Party Girl in which her character Mary smokes weed. The movie begins with Mary hitting a joint as she handles door duties at an underground New York City party.

Posey has received an MTV Movie Award nomination for Scream 3 (2000), Independent Spirit Awards noms for Personal Velocity (2002) and Broken English (2007), a Golden Globe nom for Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay (2003) and an Emmy nom for Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024). She's never won a major award.

Known for her sardonic approach to acting, the 56-year-old Mississippian has also appeared in Coneheads (1993), The Doom Generation (1995), Kicking and Screaming (1995), The Daytrippers (1996), Basquiat (1996), Waiting for Guffman (1996), SubUrbia (1996), House of Yes (1997), Henry Fool (1997), You've Got Mail (1998), Best in Show (2000), Josie and the Pussycats (2001), The Anniversary Party (2001), A Mighty Wind (2003), Blade: Trinity (2004), Fay Grim (2006), Superman Returns (2006), Spring Breakdown (2009), Happy Tears (2009), Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012), Grace of Monaco (2014), Ned Rifle (2014), Irrational Man (2015), Café Society (2016), Lost in Space (2018), Beau Is Afraid (2023) and Thelma (2024). 

 

The Top 10 Actors to Come Out of Dazed and Confused

1. Ben Affleck (O'Bannion) - Oscars for Argo and Good Will Hunting
2. Matthew McConaughey (Wooderson) - Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club
3. Milla Jovovich (Michelle) - starred in all five Resident Evil flicks
4. Parker Posey  (Darla) - Party GirlA Mighty Wind, The White Lotus
5. Rory Cochrane (Slater) - CSI: Miami
6. Cole Hauser (Benny) - ERHigher Learning, Yellowstone
7. Joey Lauren Adams (Simone) - Chasing AmyHarvard ManJay and Silent Bob Strike Back
8. Adam Goldberg (Mike) - Saving Private RyanThe Hebrew HammerEntourage
9. Jason London (Randall "Pink" Floyd) - Hero Factory
10. Wiley Wiggins (Mitch) - Waking Life

 

More Actors

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Steve Bloom

Steve Bloom

Publisher of CelebStoner.com, former editor of High Times and Freedom Leaf and co-author of Pot Culture and Reefer Movie Madness.