Now, you know how that story turned out, but what if Aniston had said yes to Lorne Michaels and the SNL crew? Well, in typical Jen fashion, it didn’t go down the way anyone expected. In fact, she practically turned SNL down with a side of boldness and sass.
“I remember walking in, and it was [David] Spade and Sandler, and I knew those guys forever, and 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,’” Jennifer Aniston recalled. Yep, she didn’t exactly hold back. She kept going, telling Lorne that she preferred the “good old days” of Gilda Radner and Jane Curtin. Not exactly what you’d expect from someone walking into the office of the man who made SNL a cultural juggernaut. “Who the f— was I to say this to Lorne Michaels?” she joked later. Classic Aniston—blunt and a little bit hilarious.
At the time, Jennifer wasn’t yet the household name she would become. She had a few TV shows under her belt, but none of them had taken off. Friends was still in the “could go either way” phase when she turned down SNL. In fact, she was coming off four failed TV shows and probably wasn’t too thrilled with the prospect of another gamble in sketch comedy. Enter Adam Sandler, who was already on SNL. Sandler was so sure Aniston was a perfect fit for the show, he even told Oprah about the moment he saw her walking into Lorne’s office. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, there’s Aniston. Is she about to be on our show?’ When I found out she turned it down for Friends, I was like, ‘What the hell is Friends?’”
Trending
Fast forward to 1994, and Aniston made the call that changed her career: she chose Friends over SNL. Friends—you know, that little show about a group of New York pals, including Rachel Green, a role that would define her career for years to come. Meanwhile, SNL carried on, and Aniston became a sitcom legend, making her mark as one of the most beloved actresses of her generation.
But here’s the kicker: despite the “boy’s club” vibes she felt at the time, Aniston’s relationship with SNL eventually came full circle. She would go on to host the show a few times, proving that while she had her reservations back then, she certainly appreciated the iconic status of the late-night sketch fest. “Yes, adorably that happened,” she said, acknowledging her 180 on the whole SNL thing. She hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time in 1995, just a year after Friends took off, and later returned for two more appearances in 1999 and 2004.
In the end, her decision to pass on SNL was, well, maybe a little less wild than it sounded at the time. After all, Friends turned into a global phenomenon, and Jennifer Aniston? Well, she became Rachel Green—a role that pretty much cemented her spot in TV history.
Check out the latest Hollywood News!
Must Read: What Prompted Joaquin Phoenix To Demand A Last-Minute Exit From Napoleon?
Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube | Google News
The post Why Did Jennifer Aniston Turn Down SNL For A Shot At Friends Stardom? appeared first on Koimoi.