Back in 1997, Jennifer Aniston was well on her way to becoming a Hollywood superstar, with Friends still going strong and a growing film career. Getting an inside scoop from her would be a big deal, and that task fell to one radio intern who didn't have the best luck... at first. According to actor and podcaster Joe Pardavila in his new book, the actress went out of her way to make the interview happen for him.
Pardavila interned at Scott & Todd in the Morning on 95.5 PLJ in New York in the late ‘90s. In his new book, called Good Listen: Creating Memorable Conversations In Business And Life, he revealed (via Page Six) how he was given that task of interviewing Aniston on the set of Picture Perfect, but his opportunity was axed after an unpleasant encounter with a security guard. He wrote:
He saw me and sensed what I was about to do. He made a beeline straight for me. … Holding up my radio mic, I said in my most soothing and innocent tone, ‘Hey, I only want to ask Jennifer a couple of questions, that’s all.’ The guard let me know that wasn’t going to happen. His tone was neither soothing nor innocent.
Unfortunately, the rejection didn’t end there. Jennifer Aniston had heard what was going on and told him she couldn’t talk. That seemed like the end of his attempt to get that interview with the Friends star, but the situation started to look up from there, as Joe Pardavila chronicled:
… a couple of minutes later, Jennifer Aniston had her assistant call the front desk at PLJ to say Jennifer felt badly about what happened. Better yet, she’d be happy to do an interview with the morning show. … [Jennifer] talked for twenty minutes with us about the movie she was making, her time on ‘Friends,’ everything you’d want to talk about with Jennifer Aniston.
More than 20 years have passed since Aniston gave that interview while working on Picture Perfect, but it's still nice to hear the story of how she helped everything work out for Joe Pardavila after he seemed to have struck out. She's an even bigger name now than she was back in 1997, with not only Rachel Greene to her name, but also a number of films and a second hit series thanks to The Morning Show.
The fact that this happened when her Hollywood star was rapidly on the rise makes it all the better in hindsight. The gesture clearly left on impression on the former radio intern, since the story found a place in his new book.
This isn't the first or only story of Jennifer Aniston's generosity with her celebrity status. In 2020, she surprised Friends fans on the Warner Bros. studios lot for The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Those who were enjoying themselves at the recreated Central Perk set were hilariously scared by Aniston, but the fright didn't last long when they realized who had popped out behind the iconic couch.
She also delivered some Friends fun on social media recently, when she revealed that she still has one of Monica’s dresses and proved it by wearing it. I for one would love to see a response from Courteney Cox with her wearing one of Rachel's dresses, but seeing Aniston looking great in the Monica dress was a treat on its own.
Jennifer Aniston's star isn't dimming any time soon. She will soon be back on screen with Adam Sandler the upcoming movie Murder Mystery 2, which will be available to Netflix subscribers. (You can find the original Murdery Mystery on the streamer now.) Be sure to check out CinemaBlend’s list of upcoming movies to see what else to look forward to!
Good Listen: Creating Memorable Conversations In Business And Life hits bookshelves on Tuesday, July 12. If you want to revisit Friends to see Jennifer Aniston in the iconic TV role that jumpstarted her career, you can find the series streaming with a subscription to HBO Max.
