Jennifer Aniston Says Soap Star Dad John Aniston Urged Her Not to Act: ‘Please Don’t Do This’

It’s a good thing Jennifer Aniston never followed her famous father’s advice. 

The Friends star, 56, is the daughter of the late Days of Our Lives actor John Aniston and noted that despite his lengthy acting career, her dad actively discouraged her from following in his footsteps. 

“My dad was telling me, please don't do this. You're just going to suffer rejection,” the Morning Show star recalled on the Monday, Oct. 20 episode of Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast. 

Referencing her dad’s time in Greece studying in medical school, Jennifer jokingly added, “Yeah. You're gonna end up in Greece anyway. Go get a real job. All the cliche things.”

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Commenting on the “nepo baby” label that follows the children of actors, the Golden Globe winner added, “So maybe you got into a door because you're so and so's kid, but if you suck, guess what? You're not going to continue to do it.” 

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Of her father, Jennifer noted that the late actor was a staple of Days of Our Lives for 37 years prior to his death in 2022. 

“He was on that show forever,” she said. “In fact, the last episode he shot aired like a week after he died. So he worked right up until that was it. That was literally a wrap on John.”

And Jennifer also admitted that she spent much of her adolescence seeking her father’s attention after her parents got divorced when she was 9. 

“Yeah. I would have given anything,” she said.

As for what she’d recommend when it comes to career aspirations, Jennifer simply noted, “Whatever drives you. If you find passion in something and you love it, go do it.”

This isn’t the first time Jennifer has opened up about her father’s influence on her life. In August, the Emmy winner told Vanity Fair that part of her professional drive came from the hope that her dad would "love me as much as I love him."

"It was the thing that drove me and was also my biggest heartbreak: trying to impress and prove your value to a man who’s only capable of so much," Jennifer said.

Prior to his death at 89, Jennifer said her dad was able to express his pride in her. 

"We had a few of those moments," she revealed.