Jennifer Aniston wasn't interested in appearing on "boys' club" SNL at first

However, the Morning Star actor has hosted the show two times since then

By Gabrielle Sanchez  |  December 9, 2021 | 4:52pm
Aux News Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston wasn't interested in appearing on
Introducing Endless Mode: A New Games & Anime Site from Paste
Jennifer Aniston Photo: Jon Kopaloff

Right before she starred in the career-defining New York City-based sitcom Friends, Jennifer Aniston had the opportunity to take an entirely different route on another iconic set: Saturday Night Live at Studio 8H.

In a profile on The Hollywood Reporter, Aniston shares the story of meeting Lorne Michaels for a role on SNL with David Spade and Adam Sandler, where she dug into the sketch series’ male-dominated history.

“I was so young and dumb and I went into Lorne’s office and I was like, ‘I hear women are not respected on this show.’” Aniston says. “I don’t remember exactly what I said next, but it was something like, ‘I would prefer if it were like the days of Gilda Radner and Jane Curtin.’”

“I mean, it was such a boys’ club back then, but who the fuck was I to be saying this to Lorne Michaels?!” Aniston continues. “So yes, adorably that happened and I’ve hosted Saturday Night Live a couple of times, and I love it so much.”

Despite her long and successful career on television and film, Aniston also says she’s felt relatively confined and typecast in her romantic comedy roles. When it comes to ways to expand her horizons, the The Morning Show actor names the illustrious Wes Anderson as a director she’d love to work with.

“I was the girl next door, the damsel in distress, the brokenhearted—your traditional rom-com themes. And at a certain point, it was like, ‘Can’t we do something else? Am I just on this part of the cereal aisle? Like, will I ever get to be a bountiful Kashi or some sort of oatmeal, or am I going to be Fruit Loops forever?’” Aniston says. “And then you start to doubt yourself. ‘Maybe I can’t? Maybe there’s a reason that no one [is giving me these opportunities]?’

“But there are still certain directors I’d love to work with, ones who have their pick of who they like, and sometimes I want to go, ‘I’d love to be part of that club.’”

Time to get writing those online petitions.

 
Join the discussion...