Jennifer Aniston reveals the 'uncomfortable' thing she always skips in auditions: "I would never..."
Jennifer Aniston joined Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Anna Sawai, Sofia Vergara, Jodie Foster, and Brie Larson for The Hollywood Reporter's Roundtable in May 2024 to share their experiences as women in television. During the segment, one of the topics discussed was a rather disturbing story of Anne Hathaway, who had previously revealed that during an audition in the 2000s, she had to kiss ten different guys as part of a chemistry test, as reported by The Guardian.
When the actresses were asked about it, Kidman joked, "To be excited to make out with someone? I think maybe secretly I've been excited." Aniston, meanwhile, shared her own experience. Although she had never been put in such a situation, she has made clear her boundaries. "I haven't been told you're going to have to lay down and [simulate]…And if asked, I would never." Chiming in, Kidman argued that chemistry can often be created through good direction, lighting, and camera work. Aniston also pointed out how stressful auditions already are without them. She said, "When you're in an audition room, you're already at a disadvantage. Maybe you'd have chemistry with this person if you were in a different environment and not, like, 'Create chemistry. Ready? Go,'" as per Hello! magazine.
Reflecting on her early career, she admitted, "And I'm a terrible auditioner, always was. I waitressed forever before I could finally get something, which was a Bob's Big Boy commercial." Hence, she claimed it would have been twice as nerve-wracking to kiss a stranger during an audition. "So, if you're a nervous auditioner, to begin with...it's very uncomfortable." Watts also shared her struggles with auditions, especially when trying out for 'Mulholland Drive' (2001).
She shared, "Some people are really good at auditioning, but I was shockingly bad too." She recalled feeling rushed in audition rooms. "I could feel the energy in the room where people were like, 'Hurry this along.' I'd even go, 'Yeah, don't worry, I'm out of your way in one second. You don't even have to look me in the eye and shake my hand.'" Her big break came when she met David Lynch, the director of 'Mulholland Drive', who took a different approach. She recounted, "He just sat and talked to me. He said, 'Tell me about yourself.' And I fell into it, this conversation. I was like, 'Wait, really? You want to take time with me? You want to know [expletive] about me and how I was raised and all of that?' And then I got the job. I didn't even have to audition."
Watts also recalled a 'very awkward' audition where she had to kiss a 'very well-known actor,' whom she didn’t name. She shared, “It was mortifying because we didn’t hear a ‘cut,’ and it just kept going...I did feel a bit rattled.”