Jennifer Grey and Jennifer Aniston on ‘Friends’.Photo: Everett CollectionJennifer Greyis opening up about how her mental health contributed to her decision not to return to herFriendsrole.The 63-year-old actress recently spoke toMediaVillageand revealed that she suffered from anxiety when she appeared as a guest star on the beloved sitcom.“I was a fan of the show, and I got the call to do it,” she told the outlet. “Then when I did it, I had such bad anxiety because they kept changing the script. It’s very hard to be a guest star because you’re not a part of it, and you’re really trying to figure it all out. They were trying to figure out what the character was, what the scene was, and it was changing, and changing, and changing. It all made me so anxious that I could barely do it.““I didn’t know at the time what was going on with me,” Grey continued. “But I had a lot of performance anxiety, and I just didn’t understand at that time that I needed help in the anxiety department.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Jennifer Grey.Rob Kim/GettyTheDirty Dancingstar appeared in season one ofFriends, portraying Mindy, maid-of-honor and best friend toJennifer Aniston’s Rachel, who had an affair with and later married her ex-fiancé Barry.Grey later declined an invite from producers to return for an episode in season two. The role was eventually recast with Jana Marie Hupp.“When they asked me to come back, I said I couldn’t,” she explained. “They got someone else to play the role. It makes me sad that I would say no to continuing onFriends…because of my anxiety. The truth is, I wished I had people to help me navigate that kind of fear. But I couldn’t be there until I was there.“The actress told the outlet that although her anxiety drove her from that opportunity and a few others in her career, she still remains positive about the experience she had.“Everything you do in life, especially the hard things — the really painful, difficult things — are usually the things that are the most instructive and helpful,” Grey admitted.“It’s all a part of life,” she added.
Jennifer Grey and Jennifer Aniston on ‘Friends’.Photo: Everett Collection
Jennifer Greyis opening up about how her mental health contributed to her decision not to return to herFriendsrole.The 63-year-old actress recently spoke toMediaVillageand revealed that she suffered from anxiety when she appeared as a guest star on the beloved sitcom.“I was a fan of the show, and I got the call to do it,” she told the outlet. “Then when I did it, I had such bad anxiety because they kept changing the script. It’s very hard to be a guest star because you’re not a part of it, and you’re really trying to figure it all out. They were trying to figure out what the character was, what the scene was, and it was changing, and changing, and changing. It all made me so anxious that I could barely do it.““I didn’t know at the time what was going on with me,” Grey continued. “But I had a lot of performance anxiety, and I just didn’t understand at that time that I needed help in the anxiety department.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Jennifer Grey.Rob Kim/GettyTheDirty Dancingstar appeared in season one ofFriends, portraying Mindy, maid-of-honor and best friend toJennifer Aniston’s Rachel, who had an affair with and later married her ex-fiancé Barry.Grey later declined an invite from producers to return for an episode in season two. The role was eventually recast with Jana Marie Hupp.“When they asked me to come back, I said I couldn’t,” she explained. “They got someone else to play the role. It makes me sad that I would say no to continuing onFriends…because of my anxiety. The truth is, I wished I had people to help me navigate that kind of fear. But I couldn’t be there until I was there.“The actress told the outlet that although her anxiety drove her from that opportunity and a few others in her career, she still remains positive about the experience she had.“Everything you do in life, especially the hard things — the really painful, difficult things — are usually the things that are the most instructive and helpful,” Grey admitted.“It’s all a part of life,” she added.
Jennifer Greyis opening up about how her mental health contributed to her decision not to return to herFriendsrole.
The 63-year-old actress recently spoke toMediaVillageand revealed that she suffered from anxiety when she appeared as a guest star on the beloved sitcom.
“I was a fan of the show, and I got the call to do it,” she told the outlet. “Then when I did it, I had such bad anxiety because they kept changing the script. It’s very hard to be a guest star because you’re not a part of it, and you’re really trying to figure it all out. They were trying to figure out what the character was, what the scene was, and it was changing, and changing, and changing. It all made me so anxious that I could barely do it.”
“I didn’t know at the time what was going on with me,” Grey continued. “But I had a lot of performance anxiety, and I just didn’t understand at that time that I needed help in the anxiety department.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Jennifer Grey.Rob Kim/Getty
TheDirty Dancingstar appeared in season one ofFriends, portraying Mindy, maid-of-honor and best friend toJennifer Aniston’s Rachel, who had an affair with and later married her ex-fiancé Barry.
Grey later declined an invite from producers to return for an episode in season two. The role was eventually recast with Jana Marie Hupp.
“When they asked me to come back, I said I couldn’t,” she explained. “They got someone else to play the role. It makes me sad that I would say no to continuing onFriends…because of my anxiety. The truth is, I wished I had people to help me navigate that kind of fear. But I couldn’t be there until I was there.”
The actress told the outlet that although her anxiety drove her from that opportunity and a few others in her career, she still remains positive about the experience she had.
“Everything you do in life, especially the hard things — the really painful, difficult things — are usually the things that are the most instructive and helpful,” Grey admitted.
“It’s all a part of life,” she added.
source: people.com
