When looking back at Jennifer Aniston’s career, her hair is going to come up.
The actress, who famously made “The Rachel” haircut a thing in the ʼ90s, recalled in a new retrospective of her work for Vanity Fair. that her hairstyle was a point of contention in the 2011 comedy Horrible Bosses.
“I fought for that wig, by the way. That was not an easy battle,” Aniston said. “I wanted her to look different. And the argument from the studio — I’m sorry to call you out — was that, ‘We’re just afraid it won’t look like you.’ And I said, ‘That’s kind of the point.'”
John P. Johnson/Warner Bros./Everett; Michael Tran/FilmMagic
Aniston played Julia, a dentist who constantly sexually harassed her dental hygienist, Dale, who was played by Charlie Day.
The star-studded cast also included Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, and the late Donald Sutherland.
“And I just still think it might look a little bit like me, but I’m glad I fought for it, and I stuck to my guns,” Aniston said of the role.
More than just her appearance, Aniston hoped that the part would shake up her image. She was best known for playing Rachel on the megahit Friends and the leading lady in movies such as The Break-Up and He’s Just Not That Into You.
“I think I was always seen as the girl next door, the ingénue,” Aniston said. “It was fairly fun to play somebody like this, because it’s so far away from anything that I am. And I think that’s what the director liked, was that, ‘Oh, this is so not what we would expect from this gal.'”
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She added, “That was the fun of it, though. I think that’s what made it more creatively exciting for me, obviously. I remember when I read this script, I was pretty excited about it.”
Horrible Bosses was directed by Seth Gordon. Aniston reprised her role in the 2014 sequel, Horrible Bosses 2.
EW has reached out to reps for both production company New Line and distributor Warner Bros.
