Jennifer Aniston Declined ‘SNL’ Appearance, Citing ‘Very Male-Dominated’ Environment
Jennifer Aniston recently opened up about her early career decisions on the Armchair Expert podcast, sharing memories of her late father, John Aniston, and his advice about pursuing acting.
John Aniston, who starred on Days of Our Lives for nearly 40 years, reportedly warned his daughter about the challenges of the profession.
“My dad was telling me, ‘Please don’t do this, you’re just going to suffer rejection,’” Aniston recalled. “‘Just go get a job. Like, get a real job.’ All the cliché things. [But] whatever drives you, if you find passion in something and you love it, go do it.”
Despite her father’s warnings, Aniston was naturally drawn to acting, and she addressed claims that her career was the result of nepotism. “I mean, look at all the law firms. Blanky Blank Blanky and Blanky Blank. I mean, all right, isn’t that a version of it’s all in the family? It’s all in the family,” she said. “So, maybe you got into a door because you’re so-and-so’s kid, but if you suck, guess what? You’re not going to continue to do it.”
Earlier this year, Aniston told Vanity Fair that she spent much of her early career trying to earn her father’s approval. “Always wanting to get Pop’s approval — it was the thing that drove me,” she said.
Before she became a household name on NBC’s Friends, Aniston revealed that she actually turned down an opportunity to appear on another NBC comedy institution: Saturday Night Live.
“I always thought I was such hot s***. The story of that is all very confusing,” Aniston said when asked by Armchair Expert host Dax Shepard.
She explained that she met with SNL creator Lorne Michaels in New York City and ran into Adam Sandler and David Spade. “I knew Sandler forever. I don’t know why I had this self-righteous attitude of ‘I don’t know if women are treated the way they should be treated on this show. It’s a very male-dominated [show], I would love to be here if it was in the Gilda Radner day.’”
She admitted she couldn’t fully remember the details, adding, “Something like that. I can’t remember, but I just remember ‘Friends’ then happened.”
It’s interesting to see how Aniston’s career path could have been very different if she had said yes to SNL. Her decision to follow her instincts, even against her father’s advice, ultimately led to one of the most iconic roles in TV history. Do you think Friends would have happened if she had joined SNL instead? Share your thoughts in the comments.
