Los Angeles Jennifer Aniston keeps a shoe box and a pair of gloves handy because well, it just happened again. A bird has flown into one of the glass windows of her midcentury Bel-Air home, and Aniston is grabbing the makeshift rescue kit and heading outside. Oh, honey. Hi, little guy. Shes struggling and she cant get up. Theres a pause. Im so sorry. Can you hold on a moment? Aniston mutes our call, returning in five minutes. We did it, Glenn. We saved him. He might need a wing check, but I think hes going to be OK.

Jennifer Aniston in "The Morning Show."(Photo: Apple TV)

That Aniston has what she calls a Dr. Dolittle plan for the wayward birds in her life surprises exactly no one who knows her. Just before the moment of bird distress, Aniston was peppering me with questions about exercise, hydration and mental and physical well-being. I love that shes interviewing you about your health regime, Kristin Hahn, Anistons longtime friend and producing partner, says a couple of days later. That sounds about right. If you give this woman a problem to solve, she will spend whatever time it takes to come up with a plan and tell you how to deal with it. And I mean, any kind of problem. We call her Dr. Aniston.

Aniston solved the primary problem of her own career how to find a role that would challenge her in ways she could never expect and make the public not exactly forget that she played Rachel on Friends, because that beloved sitcom isnt going anywhere in our lifetime, but at least showcase her talent in a way that might surprise people. Anistons turn as network morning anchor Alex Levy on The Morning Show, the flagship series in the Apple TV+ streaming lineup, did just that, earning Aniston the best reviews of her career, an Emmy nomination and a SAG Award in January.

That show was 20 years of therapy wrapped into 10 episodes, says Aniston, 51. There were times when I would read a scene and feel like a whole manhole cover was taken off my back.

Steve Carell and Jennifer Aniston in "The Morning Show."(Photo: Apple TV)

You might guess that Aniston could relate to playing a famous woman whose every move is scrutinized and judged, who grapples daily with people projecting their ideas of what her life should be (Brad & Jen-aissance) versus the authentic journey shes trying to forge, whose sell-by date expired years ago (at least, according to Billy Crudups dismissive network exec) and who, in one of The Morning Shows most memorable scenes, tells her bosses that shes really, really tired of being underestimated.

Uh-huh, she says, employing the comic timing she honed during a decade on Friends and innumerable movie rom-coms. I see where youre going.

And she gladly goes there with me. The Morning Show, which she helped build from the ground up as a producer, felt like a two-year cleanse that forced Aniston to examine how shes handled fame over the last three decades and decide that she could improve it.

Cathartic, yes, and also interesting for me to look at how I always have tried to normalize being fine and everythings great, you know, this is all normal, and then there are moments when you have your private breakdown or your Calgon, take me away moments, Aniston says. To actually look at it from an actor brain observing it and acknowledging it, I had to look at it as opposed to pretending it doesnt exist.

Aniston then dives into the scene in The Morning Shows second episode where Alex melts down in a limo on the way to an industry awards event being held in her honor. Ostensibly, the anger stems from the impracticality of the tiny purses women carry down the red carpet. But its really about her anxiety over having to put on a happy face during a time when shed rather be hiding under the covers. Aniston is utterly convincing in the moment, raw, empathetic and, of course, funny, when she turns on a dime at the onset of tears and sobs, Oh, Jesus, I cant cry! because it would ruin the makeup her stylist had spent hours applying.

There have been moments not to that level of hysteria but moments of I dont want to f ing go here, I dont want to walk out onto the carpet, I dont want to be seen, I dont want to be looked at and everyones going to be talking about me and judging me thats real, Aniston says. I just loved being able to walk into it and lean into it and not be ashamed of it, but actually just it was like she lets out a sound of sublime satisfaction. Ooooooooooh.

There were times during the series first season when Morning Show showrunner Kerry Ehrin would check in and ask Aniston: Are we pushing it? Are we taking it too far? And Aniston would answer that it was never too far. Keep it coming.

I do think I glean emotional structure from people, Ehrin says, and after spending time with her, I felt certain instincts about writing the character. And its hard to say whether that comes from a conversation or something I saw 20 years ago that she did.

Says Hahn: I was so moved to tears so many times, just watching behind the monitor and brought to tears at the level of bravery of being that truthful. I know her well enough to know when shes being concerned about what other people think, and she just let everything go. She exorcised a lot of conflict through this character.

The Morning Show had begun filming its second season earlier this year before COVID-19 shut down production in March. Aniston says the break proved fortuitous, because it allowed them to incorporate the pandemic into the story and reflect the unease everyone felt when they were shooting the seasons first two episodes. Pre-COVID and post-COVID are different universes, Ehrin says, and theres no way a topical program like The Morning Show could ignore that. What will that look like? Youre just taking the best guess of what you think will be an effective place to go with the storytelling and let the characters guide you, Ehrin says.

Anistons post-COVID-19 life looks like this right now: She has a bubble of four families that rotate among their homes and never go outside the pod. The kids have grown up together and know one another, so they have a good time, and its all lovely, Aniston says. Shes reading, watching a ton of TV, veering between things like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and the James Baldwin-centered examination of American racism, I Am Not Your Negro. And Lenox Hill, the Netflix medical docuseries, because Aniston was addicted to Trauma: Life in the E.R. back in the day and loves watching the stories of doctors and health care workers, particularly at this moment in time.

Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell in "The Morning Show," streaming on Apple TV+.(Photo: Apple TV+, TNS)

Last summer and into the early fall, Aniston hosted a series of salons, Jen Talks, she calls them, inviting a few dozen friends to her home to listen to people like Jessica Yellin discuss politics or Jay Shetty distill what he learned as a monk or David Sinclair offer advice on longevity. Because Aniston has her eye on the long game. And she plans on winning.

I look at my dad, who just turned 87, and he is Greek stubborn, fabulous, all those things from that generation but, you know, I think they could be a little healthier. Hes going to be so mad at me. Aniston pauses, laughing. But shes not stopping. You know, my mom, cmon, none of you guys took care of yourselves. But they didnt know any better. And now we know. So whats our excuse? Its about just knowing what you put inside your body, exercising my father, never, ever they didnt know you could keep your bones strong, never mind being fit and fitting into a size-whatever.

Im going to be in my 80s or 90s or maybe now even my 100s at this rate, Aniston continues, and I dont want to be wheeling around. I would like to be vibrant and thriving.

And we talk more about bone density and cellular regeneration and how 90 might soon be the new 70 and about a new level of consciousness thats getting birthed right now and planetary alignment and how these troubling times are temporary and this too shall pass and then our time together is done. But not before Dr. Aniston leaves me with one last prescription: Rich Roll podcast. David Sinclair. Longevity. Its 21/2 hours long. And I have a bad feeling Im going to be giving up pasta after I finish listening to it.

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