Jennifer Aniston says she found it difficult to land meaningful roles after successful portrayal of Rachel Green in 'Friends'
In a couple of candid interviews while promoting her upcoming series called 'The Morning Show,' Jennifer Aniston opened up about her frustration at being typecast after she shot to fame with the cult classic, 'Friends.'
The 50-year-old actress said in the initial years of her career, she found it difficult to land meaningful roles as Hollywood refused to cast her as anything other than "the girl next door," especially after her hugely successful portrayal of Rachel Green in 'Friends'.
"I feel like I’ve always been fighting for the right to be here. I was only seen as the girl next door, or America’s sweetheart. There was nothing else out there for me to play, nothing more complicated or juicy so I had to find the material myself," she told The Times' T2 on Monday, November 4.
In the same interview, Aniston's new costar Reese Witherspoon chimed in, echoing the former's thoughts. She said she had to compete with other female counterparts for "only one job" sometimes, which gave rise to the infamous notion that actresses could not be supportive of one another in the industry.
She added that she was inspired to become a producer after reading a "horrible, terrible" script. "We’re fighting over playing somebody’s girlfriend in a stupid movie because it’s the only job? That’s when I started getting busy with my production company," she said.
In a separate interview with Glamour, Aniston admitted she often found herself "isolating" and as a result, "losing touch with the real world."
"I find myself at times isolating. Don't get me wrong, I love being home. Home is a very comfortable, safe space for me. But if you stay home for too long you will become isolated and lose touch with what's going on in the real world." she said.