Jennifer Aniston is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood today. She also happens to have one of the longest careers in the business, having been acting since the late '80s (she started out with a small role in the film Mac and Me, which she wasn’t credited for).
Aniston is one of the most critically acclaimed actresses around, having received eight Emmy nods and one win so far.
As longtime fans would know, Aniston rose to fame after getting cast in the hit sitcom Friends as Rachel Green. One could say that the role also launched her into superstardom, and she achieved A-list status soon after.
However, the show may have affected the way Aniston chose her film roles. In fact, there’s reason to believe she even became wary of rom-coms because of Friends' legacy.
Here’s What Friends Did To Rom-Coms For Jennifer Aniston
Around the time that Aniston was starring on Friends, casting was underway for Serendipity, the romantic comedy that was later recognized as a holiday classic.
As fans of the film know, John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale would eventually play its lead stars. During the casting process, however, several other actresses were considered for the part of Sara. In fact, director Peter Chelsom recalled that he “saw a lot of people.”
Among those considered was Aniston since Sara was written as an American initially. But as it turns out, Jennifer wasn’t even remotely interested.
“I distinctly remember Jennifer Aniston coming in to meet us,” Chelsom told Insider. “I remember when she came in, she said, ‘I do a romantic comedy once a week,’ her being on Friends at the time, so she clearly had other things on her plate and it was her decision not to do it.” He also added, “We definitely would have made her an offer if she wanted to make it.”
In the end, Chelsom went with Beckinsale. At the same time, it was decided that Sara would be rewritten as British. It just made more sense since Beckinsale was going to play her. As for Aniston, Friends kept her busy.
After Friends, Jennifer Aniston Did Rom-Coms Anyway
Perhaps, Aniston had a little change of heart about rom-coms following her stint on Friends. Soon after, the actress was seen in the 2005 film Rumor Has It, which boasted an ensemble featuring Shirley MacLaine, Mark Ruffalo, and Kevin Costner.
“It was fun and light,” Aniston told Female of her decision to do the film. “Being my first job after Friends, I felt it was a nice little delicate step out of the nest.” She also added, “I also really thought, as far as these romantic comedies, go, this was interesting.”
Later on, Aniston starred in The Break-Up with Vince Vaughn, which she worked on it around the time that she was going through a highly publicized split from Brad Pitt.
Admittedly, Aniston thought the timing of it all was interesting. “When it came along, you can't help but think, 'Really, The Break-Up? Is that actually going to happen?’” she told reelrave. “And then I read it and I just went, well this is something I would be so interested to do because it's not just a trite sort of romantic comedy about a breakup.”
In the years that followed, Aniston went on to star in several other rom-coms. These include titles such as He’s Just Not That Into You, Love Happens, The Bounty Hunter, The Switch, Just Go with It, and Wanderlust.
In Recent Years, Jennifer Aniston Has Stayed Away From Rom-Com Again
Aniston may have ended up doing a lot of rom-coms but there’s reason to believe she’s done with them. In fact, the actress has since taken on more serious roles, ones that are almost unexpected of Aniston.
For instance, she played a pill-popping woman who grows curious about the suicide of a woman in her chronic pain support group in the critically acclaimed film Cake.
A few years later, Aniston also starred in the Netflix drama Dumplin’ where she played a former beauty queen and mom raising a plus-size teenage daughter.
For the actress, it was a role that drew some parallels from her experience with her own mother, Nancy Dow. “Dumplin’ kicked up stuff for me about my mom and our relationship. It was definitely push-pull,” Aniston told USA Today.
“My mom wasn’t doing anything intentional to damage any self-esteem of mine, as we discussed in our older years together. She was doing what she thought best.”
At the moment, Aniston is gearing to star in the sequel Murder Mystery 2 for Netflix. She’s also been attached to two other upcoming featuring films, the biographical drama Hail Mary that’s based on an article, and an untitled project with Sex Education’s Sophie Goodhart.
For the actress, this is the time of her life where she’s flexing her acting muscles more, taking on projects that she’s never done that before. After all, the star has all the time in the world, with fans even suggesting Aniston is aging backwards.
During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress remarked, “Oh yeah, I’m just getting started.”
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