Jennifer Aniston considered leaving Friends out of concerns of overstaying her welcome and not going out on top
Jennifer Aniston became a household name in the ’90s for her role as Rachel Greene on Friends; however, it turns out she almost walked away from the show for the most unusual reasons.
When it comes to television greats, Friends remains one of the most beloved and binged series of all-time. The show is heralded as one of the greatest sitcoms to have ever graced our screens and is forever ingrained in pop culture thanks to its iconic characters, dialogue and moments that continue to make fans laugh to this day.
Even during its run, the show was one of the biggest series around, which is perhaps whats make the fact that Jennifer Aniston almost walked away from her career-defining role that much more shocking.
As revealed in a classic interview The Mirror recently unearthed which Aniston gave to form NBC News host Matt Lauer, Aniston confessed she considered walking away from Friends due to various issues she was dealing with at the time stemming from her concern with overstaying her welcome.
"“I had a couple of issues that I was dealing with. I wanted it to end when people still loved us and we were on a high,” Aniston revealed at the time. “And then I also felt I was feeling like, how much more of Rachel do I have in me? How many more stories are there to tell for all of us before we’re just now pathetic?”"
In all reality, we can’t blame Aniston for considering walking away from the show and fearing a burnout that many shows/actors have been plagued by over the years. After all, when you pour so much of yourself into a role it’s understandable to be concerned with not tarnishing the character or show’s legacy.
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We’re just fortunate Aniston never followed through with her thoughts of leaving the show as it’s hard to imagine Friends without any of the show’s six leads. And yes, nearly impossible to picture any version of Friends that doesn’t include Aniston’s trendsetting character, Rachel Greene.
Thoughts on learning Jennifer Aniston almost walked away from Friends due to concerns with overstaying her welcome with fans — especially considering how beloved the series has remained over the years? Are you relieved Aniston didn’t leave the show and stuck it out through the show’s 10-season run?