What a role! Jennifer Aniston opened up to Robin Roberts on Good Morning America on Wednesday, Jan. 21, about her SAG and Golden Globe-nominated role in the drama Cake.
“I fell in love with her when I read the script,” the Friends alum, 45, explained of her character. In the indie flick, Aniston plays a woman named Claire Simmons, who lives with overwhelming chronic pain. “It’s kind of that dream role for any actor because there’s so much to explore,” she continued. “What a beautiful human experience to sort of journey with, and to come out at the end with hope after starting something that was a tough one.”
Most rewarding about the role for Aniston is that those grappling with chronic pain have reached out to her after watching the film. “I’ve had people with shrapnel that they’re living with [contacting me],” she told Roberts. “Every day [they are] living in agony… It’s not something you can diagnose, because you’re just trusting the sufferer.”
“It was wonderful,” Justin Theroux’s fiancee — wearing a white Michael Kors tie neck blouse and opaque Wolford tights — said of the reaction to her latest film. “It just brings up a great discussion. That’s what we want to do when we make our movies.”
While it was difficult for Aniston to relate to Claire’s pain, the actress found one quality in the character that she could channel: Her sense of humor. “No, I don’t think many people could [relate to their condition],” she mused. “Human beings are so extraordinarily resilient when you see what some people walk through,” Aniston reflected, “and continue to live life after having something so tragic happen to them.”
She added: “It was something I related to — her humor. I understood that. I, for one, have gone through difficult times to varying degrees of difficulty and find humor as a way to get through it. I also loved that because you were getting a window into this former shadow of who she once was.”
Aniston threw her weight into playing Claire, transforming herself physically and mentally. “I felt like I went back to class doing this,” she said Wednesday. In the last five years, Aniston has starred in comedies like Horrible Bosses, We’re the Millers, The Bounty Hunter, and more. “All of those wonderful acting experiences, the exploration of a character and stuff. It’s been so long,” she said of learning more about acting. “It’s also exciting to keep challenging myself.”
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Watch her interview above!
