Jennifer Aniston "Hated" This Co-Star and Complained About Him on Set
She and Jay Mohr starred opposite each other in the 1997 rom-com Picture Perfect.
If you're listing out Jennifer Aniston's most memorable projects, the 1997 romantic comedy Picture Perfect probably isn't anywhere near the top. But, working with the Friends actor on the movie definitely stood out to co-star Jay Mohr, who has since claimed that she wasn't fond of him and made that clear on set. According to him, on the first day they met, Aniston complained about him being cast as her love interest, and Mohr also said that she hurt his feelings so much that he drove to his parents' house to cry. Read on to find out more about this late '90s feud.
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They played love interests.
In Picture Perfect, Aniston plays a single woman, Kate, who lies to her boss about being engaged to a man she met only once. That man, Nick, is played by Mohr, who had been a Saturday Night Live cast member and appeared in Jerry Maguire before being cast opposite Aniston. Kate and Nick go through ups and downs as she tries to trick her boss and eventually fall in love.
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Mohr claimed Aniston was immediately upset by his presence.
Mohr opened up about working with Aniston during a 2011 episode of his podcast Mohr Stories. The now-53-year-old actor said that he was excited and surprised to have landed the role opposite her, because he was just making the transition from standup comedy to movie roles.
"I assume she likes me, because I got the part," Mohr said. He also said he thought, "I beat out her boyfriend! I must have done so good that she said, 'You know what, I don't even want my boyfriend to have this part, I want that kid whose a club comic to star in a Fox motion picture.'" At the time, Aniston was dating actor Tate Donovan. Aniston supposedly wanted him to star alongside her in the film.
Mohr claimed on the podcast that she was upset when he saw her for the first time during filming. "As she's walking toward us to walk past us, she's pointing to [co-star] Illeana Douglas and she goes, 'Six guys they screen tested. Six!' … And then points at me and goes, 'The one [expletive] guy I hate, that's the guy they hire. Him!'"
He said she complained about him to their co-stars.
Mohr recalled a scene in which he and Aniston dance and said that he thought they were connecting in that moment. But, according to him, she called him out in front of the other cast members by looking over at them and simply saying, "See?"
"I realize she's been telling these people I'm a piece of dog [expletive] and she can't [expletive] believe I got the part," he said. "Like she even told them, so that when the scene was finished, she just looked at them, and went, "See?" Like, see what I mean? How [expletive] terrible this all is?"
He continued on to reveal how he dealt with her supposed behavior. "Jennifer Anniston was so [expletive] mean to me that on the weekend I drove to Verona, New Jersey to my mom and dad's house. I put my head in my mother's lap and I [expletive] cried," he said. "My mom thinks I'm like HIV-positive, I've killed someone … I go, 'She's so mean … I finally got a leading role, a romantic leading man in a movie. I'm number two on the call sheet, that's impossible, and she's just so [expletive] mean.'"
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Mohr had previously said he'd never name names.
In a 2010 interview, Elle asked Mohr about his "most awkward interaction with a female celebrity." He responded, "Being on the set of a movie where the leading woman was unhappy with my presence and made it clear from day one. I hadn't done many movies, and even though they screen-tested some pretty famous guys, I somehow snaked into the leading role. The actress said, 'No way! You've got to be kidding me!' Loudly. Between takes. To other actors on set. I would literally go to my mom's house and cry."
The interviewer noted that the only movie that fit his description is Picture Perfect and asked if he was talking about Aniston. "I will never, ever answer that," Mohr said.
Aniston, for her part, has never addressed their supposed feud or her reported dislike of Mohr.
He admitted that he was tough to work with.
"At the time—if you think I'm crazy now, in 1995, I was a [expletive] maniac," Mohr said on his podcast. "I was an absolute mental patient, crazy person that never shut up, was always loud, could not ever leave a punchline on the floor. I always had to have something to say … I'm an absolutely distraction. It's like having a chimp on a moped come through your scene."
He also recalled that, in addition to Aniston, Picture Perfect director Glenn Gordon Caron grew frustrated with him. "When he says action, I'm killing it, but when he says cut, I am literally costing them money because the days are taking longer," Mohr said. The comedian said he began behaving better after a confrontation, and that he and Caron made up.
Mohr went on to claim that, at that point, Aniston "switched her hate from [him] to Glenn Gordon Caron." He said that he got his "revenge" when she voiced her opinion on the director to him. "She looks at me and she goes, 'Can you [expletive] believe this guy? Have you ever seen a director be more of a [expletive] than him?'," Mohr said. "I had the sublime pleasure of looking this [expletive] in the face and going, 'I think he's great.'"
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