Now and Jen
In a no-holds-barred interview with Jennifer Aniston, funnywoman Amy Sedaris captures the quirkier side of everyone’s favorite friend.
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SEP 14, 2017
Thanks to her hilarious performances in Office Christmas Party, the Horrible Bosses movies and the cult-favorite Office Space, Jennifer Aniston has earned a reputation as one of Hollywood’s queens of dark comedy. Enter comedian and actress Amy Sedaris for what should have been a straightforward chat with Aniston about her upcoming film project, her latest fragrance (Jennifer Aniston Luxe), and passion for interior design, and things take a slightly twisted turn. Just as she does with the unsuspecting guests on her new show, At Home With Amy Sedaris, premiering this month on truTV, Sedaris deftly steered the talk to bedbugs, seeing ghosts, and the joys of being Greek.
AMY SEDARIS: Jennifer Aniston!
JENNIFER ANISTON: Amy Sedaris!
AS: I think of you as my sister-in-law because you’re married to Justin [Theroux], an old good friend of mine. You took him from New York, and it’s fun to see him so in love and happy.
JA: A brother from another mother—that warms my heart.
AS: I’ve been a big fan of yours for so long. I’m always happy when I’m watching a movie and you pop in. One that took me a long time to watch was Marley & Me because you know how sad it’s going to be, but you made that movie. And Cake, it must have been a drag to get into the head space of playing someone so addicted to pain medication. I just love the scene when you have to lie down in the car.
JA: It was, but I was so deeply in love with that character. It was a fascinating experiment as an actor because you don’t always get those opportunities if you’re seen in a certain light.
AS: Comedy—you’ve got it. It must be great to branch out into roles like that and The Good Girl, where you’re willing to look unglamorous. Now you’re going to do a show with Reese Witherspoon. Are you excited about going back to TV?
JA: Always. Lately all the great work has been on television. Reese was my little sister on Friends. She had just given birth to Ava, who’s 18 now, so it was like, “Oh, my God, a baby with a baby!” [Laughs]
AS: I like that TV feels more intimate. It takes a lot for me to go to a movie now. You have to sit so long before the movie even starts, and then everyone starts talking about bedbugs. [Laughs]
JA: Bedbugs—oh, my! The kind of wonderful nostalgia of going to a movie on a date on a Friday night unfortunately has gone, it seems. Everyone is so addicted to their damn phone. Kids are watching movies on their phones or a computer. It’s sad to see the filmmaker’s and everyone’s hard work diminished down to a computer screen. But it is fun to sit in bed and binge-watch. You can just dive through them like an eating disorder. [Laughs]
AS: So true. There are certain shows that aren’t even good and you’re still binge-watching. But sometimes, especially when you finish a project, you need to mentally go down a rabbit hole. I heard that Jason Bateman’s Ozark is really good.
JA: That’s my current binge. It’s brilliant, he’s fantastic in it.
AS: At your wedding, I pimped Jason to say something, and it was so nice what he had to say. Everything about that wedding was perfect. Everyone was dressed like a bunch of woodland creatures, and your dress looked so beautiful and breezy. Justin asked me to be his best man two days before, and I was really scared. Jimmy Kimmel [who officiated at the nuptials] said,
“Amy, you have one job: Just hand me the rings separately.” Of course, I handed both to him. [Laughs]
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JA: It’s funny, I just gave Justin our edited video of the wedding for our anniversary, and it was fun to revisit it.
AS: Justin says we met for the first time at Marion’s in New York, where I used to wait tables, but I don’t remember waiting on him. I know I met him through Phil [Seymour] Hoffman, and we clicked instantly. Justin’s so talented, and he has a good mind. We both think really fast.
JA: You’re surely one of his sisters from another mister. [Laughs]
AS: When you guys started dating, I didn’t know you, but I was like, “I can see it, Justin. You don’t have to tell me anything about her.” I love what you did to his apartment in New York, and I love that you’re interested in buildings and their history. Does renovating stress you out?
JA: I love it. I’m getting antsy to do another project. It’s a hell of an expensive hobby, though. If I wasn’t acting, I would do that full-time: the process of seeing it, having the vision, then collecting the team of people who will execute that vision. I enjoy walking into a house that’s been taken down to the studs.
AS: Studs terrify me.
JA: You should have seen Justin. We walked in one day after they’d been doing the demo, and he was like, “Holy shit. What are we doing?” And I was like, “We’re redoing the house, babe. We gotta take the wall down to put up a nicer one.”
AS: Did you ever have to de-spook a house?
JA: It’s funny you ask. One of the first houses I rented was in Laurel Canyon, and things would literally fall off the shelves, the televisions and stereo system would all of a sudden blast, and the coffeemaker would start making coffee. My roommate at the time, who talked to dead people, if that doesn’t sound too crazy, did a little ceremony, and that freaked me out. I was new to Los Angeles and the spirit, past lives, New Age thing. And now every house I go to, I have a healer or a medium come through. This makes me sound like an absolute insane human being. [Laughs]
AS: How did you and Justin come together on decorating?
JA: They say building houses can make or break a couple. I was so used to doing it on my own, and there were moments when I was like, “Don’t say no so fast.” I have this dialogue with my interior designer where I’ll go: “No. Hate it. Move. Next.” That can sound a little abrupt, so I had to retool my attitude a bit. It wasn’t very hard because he loved whatever I brought to him.
AS: Was your mom or your dad into interior design?
JA: We were broke, so my mom and dad would go to thrift places and antiques stores and find these jewels. My dad would strip the paint, and underneath would be a gorgeous old wooden cabinet with leaded glass. It was important for my mom aesthetically to have a beautiful space even though we couldn’t afford expensive furniture. Even in my 20s as a struggling waitress, I knew how to make whatever rental I was in into a pretty home. My mom also taught me about being a proper hostess and always having some noshes and drinks for guests.
AS: You guys are both very welcoming; there’s always food, and you’ve got drinks. I love the habit of you leaving the refrigerator door open.
JA: I love to entertain. And I love the sound of people enjoying themselves.
AS: I hear you have a new fragrance? I wear Comme des Garçons Incense, then I mix it with a little vanilla and a little bit of Italian patchouli. I think it would be hard to bottle something.
JA: There’s a whole art of perfume-making. Like the group they call the nose. This feels clichéd, but they happen to be Frenchmen with noses that are very sensitive to smell. You’re like an alchemist. There was this oil, hair serum, and candle that I love, and it was fun to bring those scents together. I also came up with the idea of making my friend Andrea’s wedding-day fragrance. By the way, did you watch the finale of The Bachelorette?
AS: I don’t watch it.
JA: You’re so way ahead of us. [Laughs] Good girl. Anyway, I found this antique perfume bottle and essential oils, and at Andrea’s bachelorette weekend, 12 girls put in drops and made a beautiful intention, prayers, and wishes. You could never re-create it.
AS: What’s the main note in your fragrance?
JA: There’s wood, smokier notes, and some citrusy, lavender, floral-y scents. I like to ground it all up, as some perfumes can suffocate. When you get into an elevator or someone hugs you and you smell like them, it’s the worst.
AS: I wish I could smell like a Greek bakery and gasoline. [Laughs]
JA: I love the smell of acrylic nails. [Laughs] We were talking about the nails of the character I am playing in a movie called Dumplin', and she’s got to have these horrible French tipped nails. So we were trying out different ones, and I loved the smell.
AS: Do you wear nail polish a lot?
JA: I usually just buff my nails. I don’t have the patience to let my nails dry. When Justin proposed he put that freaking ring on my finger, and I was like, “Holy crap, now I’m gonna have to get manicures.” [Laughs]
AS: We’ve talked about tanning before, and you said you had a friend who swore if you use Coca-Cola on your skin it gets really dark?
JA: Yes, baby oil and Coca-Cola, or some weird combination. Being Greek, we love our tanning, but I’ve been on hiatus. And I miss it. It brought me a lot of happiness being able to lay out there and get that vitamin D, but I’ve become very comfortable with a good spray tan.
AS: I’m going to the beach for vacation, and we have a tanning contest every year. I’m gonna run for it and make it my last summer. I like people who know how to tan, when to flip, and how to get the inside of your leg. I swear there’s a real skill to it.
JA: Your skin is like no other. You must have Greek in you.
AS: My dad’s Greek, my mom wasn’t.
JA: Mine too. And if you make this your last tanning hurrah, you have to document it. I’ll be very excited to watch that progression. I want you to win. I don’t like losers. [Laughs]
AS: You have to prevent the sun from getting on your face with that lotion, what do you call that?
JA: [Laughs] Sunscreen?
AS: Sunscreen? What’s that? This is something new. I just don’t like the feel of it.
JA: I hate it. I’ve been experimenting with ones that don’t make you look like you have Kabuki makeup on or like a corpse. I understand we’re saving our skin, but they gotta figure that stuff out. Who wants to be in the sun and not look cute?
AS: Baby steps.
JA: And, of course, Aveeno. Aveeno. Aveeno. It’s in my car, my bag, my dresser, everywhere around the house.
AS: When I was 12, I had a dry patch on my face, and the doctor told my mom I’m supposed to apply Jergens lotion to my face and body every night. Now when I go home I always do spa night and give everyone a facial.
JA: You do? I want you to give me a facial!
AS: Okay.
JA: Next time we come to New York, instead of a crafty night, what do you call it? Crafty bitches? [Laughs]
AS: Crafty beavers.
“They say building houses can make or break a couple. I had to retool my attitude a bit.”JA: And I expect you to take the facial very seriously. [Laughs]
AS: A few of my friends had questions for you. One wanted to know, when you get your hair done at the salon, are you able to maintain it yourself?
JA: It’s the curse of [hairstylist] Chris McMillan. Everybody leaves going, “This is the best haircut ever.” Then you wash it and go, “Oh, God, what is this?” I need him in order for my hair not to turn into a Greek fuzz fur ball. [Laughs] What other questions do you have from your friends?
AS: They wanted to know what your vitamin regimen was. I know that you and Justin take vitamins.
JA: Vitamins. Vitamins. Vitamins. I take a lot of vitamins, I’m not going to lie. It changes all the time because someone will say, “Oh, my God, you don’t take activated charcoal?” Then you go down a Googling hole to understand the benefits of that, or turmeric or dandelion for water retention. Now I’m doing apple cider vinegar in the morning.
AS: Watch one episode of Dr. Oz and your counter is full of stuff you never take.
JA: I can’t keep up. My dream is to open a wellness center. I have a fantasy where you have this beautiful space with facialists, rotating workouts, meditation classes, and a café with recipes that are healthier versions of delicious foods so you’re not deprived. I’m working on it in my brain. Not to sound all woo-woo, but if you go out into the world with inner peace, you’re more joyful. There’s a life’s-too-short policy that I now have with my work; no negative Nancies. So I’m looking forward to my facial.
AS: Oh, boy. Oh, no, I’d be so nervous. One time I put a mask on Phil [Hoffman] and his face turned 10 shades of red. So I slapped on a cucumber mask and was like, “It’s supposed to look that way.” [Laughs]
JA: That happened to me recently. I had a facial and woke up later with what looked like cystic teenage acne. It was an intense thing to look at Justin’s face. He was like, “What is happening?”
AS: Well, it was so nice talking to you. Give Justin a big smooch.
JA: You too, my darling. Ame, I’m so glad we got to do this. I can’t even believe that was an interview. I felt like that was just a good conversation with a girlfriend.
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MARIANO VIVANCO
This article originally appears in the October issue of Harper's Bazaar, available on newsstands September 26.
Lead image: Chanel swimsuit, $1,250, 800-550-0005; Christian Louboutin sandals, price upon request, christianlouboutin.com. Hair: Chris McMillan for Chris McMillan the Salon; Makeup: Gucci Westman; Manicure: Miwa Kobayashi; Production: Joey Battaglia for Rosco Production; Set Design: Gille Mills.
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