Truth is, with her hair still wet from a shower and her face free of makeup, Aniston, who's curled into a corner of a couch as if trying to make herself as small a target as possible, does look a tad bummed. Yes, she's still as funny and charming as one would hope, given her long-standing status as America's designated BFF. She'll tell you that, as she approaches 40, she's never been happier, never felt better: ''I don't know if I'm just a late bloomer, but I feel like everything is just beginning.'' But at the same time, there's a certain wariness in her eyes, an occasional flash of indignation — a sense that, as the Friends theme song goes, no one told her life was gonna be this way. After nearly a decade and a half of massive fame, Aniston has become something more than just an actress. She's a walking inkblot test, and, depending on your perspective, you could see her as a wounded, jilted victim or a strong, independent woman, an actress who's best suited to the small screen or one whose great charisma and natural comedic gifts are perpetually underappreciated. The weight of all that scrutiny is clearly a lot to carry on her small shoulders.
''Everyone projects their thoughts on you,'' she says. ''Everyone's got an opinion. I wish they didn't. I've gotten to the point where, if I focus on all of that stuff, I won't make a move, you know?'' She pauses, trying to feel her way to the right metaphor. ''There's this character — it's like my Hannah Montana,'' she says. ''That's how I feel. There's my Hannah Montana and then there's me.''
Aniston passed on Marley & Me the first time it came around, assuming that it would just be a cloying, gauzy dog movie — the cinematic equivalent of one of those inspirational posters showing a kitten clinging to a tree branch. ''My dad and a couple of other people gave me the book, but I didn't give it a second glance,'' she says. ''I thought, A book about a dog? It's like one of those little books you might see in a basket in a bathroom.''
The idea of playing a mother also gave her some pause. ''Jen had some anxieties about preparing,'' says director David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada). ''You have crying babies, the kinks and stresses of being a young, exhausted mom — a lot of stuff she hadn't been through personally or acted before.'' In the end, Aniston embraced the challenge: ''I feel like that's in my future and I'm on the verge of it in some way — or it's something I long for. So it was great to sort of dip your toe in it.''
Ultimately, though, it was the chance to explore the ups and downs of married life that drew Aniston into the movie, turning Marley & Me into something more personal than it first appeared. ''What was interesting was the story of these two people, how it doesn't always look so pretty,'' she says. ''You have your ideas and your dreams when you start out, and you're sort of wide-eyed and bushy-tailed as a young married couple. Then life unfolds and it doesn't always take you in the directions you hope that it will.''
NEXT PAGE: ''You know, career choices — you just do what you do. Not everyone's a winner. Not every episode of Friends was great. Not every guy you choose is great. Just across the board, there's so much expectation.''
