The Hollywood Reporter released their cover story on Jennifer Aniston, and good lord… who knew that there was still stuff to learn about Jennifer? Who knew that we would still have to get in some quotes about babies, Justin, Brad and her mother at this point? Perhaps I’m dating myself (I’m so old), but this THR piece reminded me so strongly of her 2005 Vanity Fair interview. Like, Jennifer was about to cry throughout the interview or scream at the ocean. I wouldn’t go so far as to say she’s a depressive (she’s not), but I do think she wallows in the bad stuff. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

The divorce from Brad Pitt: “We’re not in daily communication. But we wish nothing but wonderful things for each other. Nobody did anything wrong. You know what I mean? It was just like, sometimes things [happen]. If the world only could just stop with the stupid, soap-opera bullsh-t. There’s no story. I mean, at this point it’s starting to become — please, give more credit to these human beings.”

On her wedding plans with Justin: “We don’t have a date. I wouldn’t tell you if we did.”

The possibility of kids: “Listen, that’s a topic that’s so exhausted. I get nervous around that, just because it’s very personal. Who knows if it’s going to happen? It’s been a want. We’re doing our best.”

Learning to deal with anger: “I always thought, if you’re angry you just don’t say anything. I would come out passive, things would come out passively. But it doesn’t have to be black or white. You don’t have to be a hysterical human being and have veins popping out of your neck and turn bright red and terrify people — or else keep quiet and put your head in the sand. I used to loathe confrontation. Loathe it. It was absolute. I understood anger, but I didn’t know that you should express it. Which has been something that I’ve really tried to work on.”

She loves the Dalai Lama: “But I’d love to meet him. From the things I’ve read about him, books and lectures, he seems like pure joy, pure, pure, pure enlightenment.”

Her heroes beyond the Dalai Lama: “They’re all dead now,” she observes wistfully, before citing Laurence Olivier, who died in 1989: “Honestly, I was obsessed [with him] when I was a kid. I just remember being so enamored of him. I remember thinking, ‘Maybe someday, if I become an actress, I’ll be able to work with him.’ And I remember the day he died, crying my eyes out.”

What drew her to Justin: “It was his humor, mainly. He’s the easiest guy to hang around. He was so completely in his skin. It was the first time I remember being so comfortable [with a romantic interest], like with all my gay friends.”

She watches some bad TV: “And then there’s junk television,” she says, smiling, noting she’s hooked on The Bachelor. “I’ll say it out loud. Last year, [friends] were saying, ‘It’s The Bachelor, it’s premiering tonight! The Bachelor is premiering tonight!’ And I was like, ‘Oh, guys! Seriously? The Bachelor? That’s been on for 15 years or something.’ And Justin and I, just for fun, watched — and two hours later, we were addicted. It was like junk food. We were sad when it ended.”

Being diagnosed with dyslexia in her early 20s: “The only reason I knew [that I had it] was because I went to get a prescription for glasses. I had to wear these Buddy Holly glasses. One had a blue lens and one had a red lens. And I had to read a paragraph, and they gave me a quiz, gave me 10 questions based on what I’d just read, and I think I got three right. Then they put a computer on my eyes, showing where my eyes went when I read. My eyes would jump four words and go back two words, and I also had a little bit of a lazy eye, like a crossed eye, which they always have to correct in photos.” The revelation that she had dyslexia was life-changing. Until then, “I thought I wasn’t smart. I just couldn’t retain anything,” she says. “Now I had this great discovery. I felt like all of my childhood trauma-dies, tragedies, dramas were explained.”

Her mother: “She was critical. She was very critical of me. Because she was a model, she was gorgeous, stunning. I wasn’t. I never was. I honestly still don’t think of myself in that sort of light, which is fine. She was also very unforgiving. She would hold grudges that I just found so petty.” Aniston herself claims to hold no grudges and is forgiving “probably to a fault.”

Her future: “There’s something bigger I’m interested in doing. It could be more work, it could be more creativity, or getting more philanthropic in the world. It can look like a baby. It can look like a foundation. I know I have a bigger purpose. It’s a puzzle, and I haven’t quite put the puzzle together. But something greater is calling out to me.”

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

Am I hallucinating or does this not remind you of her VF piece a decade ago? Anyway, there’s a lot more in the interview, but I ran out of space. She talks a lot about physical pain, dealing with a pinched nerve, CAKE, anger, all of that stuff. Honestly, the thing that stuck out to me is her description of her mother and Aniston’s lack of self-awareness when it comes to how she actually is like her mom. We never want to admit that, do we? Daughters never want to admit that they’re like their mothers. We think we’re doing everything so differently, then WHAM, you’re the same angry, grudge-holding, unforgiving piece of work.

Photos courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.