Jennifer Aniston opened up about the ups and downs of her career and life at The Hollywood Reporter’s Drama Actress Roundtable, taking the time to thank Nicole Kidman for her support.
In the roundtable, published on Wednesday, May 29, the panel of actresses, which included Aniston and Kidman, were asked, “Who in this industry has helped you navigate the tougher or lonelier parts of this life?”
That’s when Aniston, 55, turned to Kidman, 56.
“When we did that movie in Hawaii [2011’s Just Go With It], you helped me out on a lot of hard things that I was going through,” Aniston said. “Just to have that community, it’s very helpful.”
Aniston did not elaborate on what those tough times were.
She also agreed with Brie Larson, who shared her own experience trying to forge strong bonds in Hollywood. “Over the years, I’ve gone out of my way to make friends with other women in the industry because there was usually just one woman on a job,” the Oscar winner explained. “It was just me, and there are things that make me uncomfortable or things that I’d like to change or to laugh about, and connecting with other women has been a game changer because you get to swap stories.”
“It’s so true,” Aniston said.
The Friends alum wasn’t the only one who drew support from another panelist. The group of seven seemed to share a mutual respect that came to light as they took turns responding. Naomi Watts noted that she also shared a strong bond with her fellow Aussie. “I mean, Nic has definitely been a guiding force for me,” she said. “Not to date us, but it’s a 40-year friendship.”
Kidman noted, “And it did not start in acting.” Watts offered, “No, it started down at the pub.”
Watts went onto admit that just watching Jodie Foster act made a difference in her career.
“Not all of our mentors are on the set,” she said. “If I can gush a little, Jodie … We’re only a few years apart, but your career was obviously so underway for such a long time and you changed my life with your performances. I still remember The Accused.”
“And you were a baby then, and you’re so well adjusted,” Kidman gushed.
“Well, it gets better, right?” Foster said. “The generation before us kept telling us that things were just going to get worse — we’ll hit 40 and it’s over. And I have to say, I’ve never been as happy as an actor as when I turned 60. There’s just some kind of contentedness about it not being all about me and walking onto a set and saying, ‘How can my experience or whatever my wisdom is, how can it serve you?’ Bringing that to the table, not only is it more fun and more freeing, but it’s also easy. It’s super easy because you’re not filled with anxiety about the things that maybe younger people are filled with anxiety about.”
At that point, Anna Sawai, the youngest on the panel, fittingly weighed in. Asked if the other actresses would become her guides, she said she has taken “little bits of advice from a lot of costars and people behind the scenes.”
