COVER STORY
Jennifer Aniston: ‘I’m not heartbroken’
IT’S been more than 14 years since the final episode of Friends and, though we’ll probably never really get over it, Jennifer Aniston certainly has. In that time she’s established herself as a true Hollywood elite with a slew of diverse roles.
She’s proven her acting chops time and again in indie darlings such as The Good
Girl, Cake and Office Space, and never been afraid to throw off her sweetheart persona to take on villainous characters such as Dr Julia Harris in Horrible Bosses (she came back for more in the sequel) and Carol Vanstone in Office Party.
But while Jen has finally managed to shake Rachel, there’s one topic that has followed her throughout her career, a subject she was recently forced to discuss at length again in her first major interview since her amicable breakup with Justin Theroux (‘the most gentle separation’, is how he put it).
‘It’s pretty crazy,’ she said. ‘The misconceptions are “Jen can’t keep a man”, and “Jen refuses to have a baby because she’s selfish and committed to her career”. Or that I’m sad and heartbroken. First, with all due respect, I’m not heartbroken. And second, those are reckless assumptions. No one knows what’s going on behind closed doors. No one considers how sensitive that might be for my partner and me. They don’t know what I’ve been through medically or emotionally.’
We may have come a long way with regard to women’s rights in 2018, but it seems we’re still guilty of certain perceptions about women who remain childless. ‘There is a pressure on women to be mothers,’ says Jen, ‘and if they
are not, then they’re deemed damaged goods. Maybe my purpose on this planet isn’t to procreate? Maybe I have other things I’m supposed to do?’
After the split, the tabloids were filled with rumours, speculations and, sometimes, downright fictions, but Jen has long had an outlet for her frustration with the media. Instead of focusing on the gossip, she’s focusing on what she’s really passionate about – her work. And, with a string of new projects on the way, each one more diverse and promising than the next, she seems spoilt for choice.
Right now you can see her in the Netflix movie Dumplin’, a musical comedy based on the bestselling novel by Julie Murphy. It tells the story of a plus-size teenage girl, Willowdean (played by Danielle Macdonald), who signs up for her mom’s beauty pageant in protest and ends up revolutionising both the competition and her small town. ‘I play the mother…’ Jen said, calling the coming-of-age film ‘a homage to Dolly Parton’.
In fact, Jen has a series of new projects planned with the streaming giant, including two new movies: Murder Mystery ,afilm that reunites with her 2011 Just
Go With It co-star, Adam Sandler – and First Ladies.
In Murder Mystery she plays the wife of a New York cop (portrayed by Adam). Their marriage is on the rocks, so they decide to take a trip to Europe to rekindle their romance. But a chance meeting on the flight with a mystery man (Luke Evans) leads them to a super yacht where elderly billionaire Malcolm Quince (Terence Stamp) is holding a family gathering. Quince is subsequently found dead, and the two need to find the real killers in order to clear their names.
First Ladies, meanwhile, puts Jen in the Oval Office. In the Netflix political comedy she steps into the role of Beverly Nicholson, the first gay female US president. The hilarious stand-up comedian turned actress Tig Notaro plays Kasey, Beverly’s First Lady.
This movie proves, says the entertainment streaming service, ‘that behind every great woman … is another great woman’.
She’ll also be returning to TV in a series (as yet unnamed, but commissioned by Apple TV) where she’ll reunite with Reese Witherspoon (devoted
Friends fans of course remember that Reese played Jen’s neurotic younger sister in the series). The drama delves into the world of morning news shows, and it bodes well that Apple ordered two seasons after extensive bidding sessions with other outlets.
Jen says: ‘It’s so in the zeitgeist right now because of what’s blowing around in our world on a daily basis. It was a really great idea, and to be able to work with Reese again and do something that was keeping me home in LA is exciting.’
And then – the dream of TV fans everywhere: with all the reboots we’re seeing, Friends might be next. Though it’s not clear whether the hit series will ever return, the actress doesn’t seem to mind the thought. ‘Courtney, Lisa and I talk about it. I fantasise about it. It really was the greatest job I ever had,’ she says.
So regardless of the tabloid fodder, 2019 seems to be all about Jen reclaiming her space – and her rightful place on our screens.