Jennifer Garner opened up about how she dealt with an early career setback that ultimately worked in her favor.
The 54-year-old actress appeared on the podcast Aspire With Emma Grede on Tuesday, and said that she came close to being cast on the NBC political drama The West Wing prior to her breakout role on the Fox thriller Alias.
‘I always think back to this audition for The West Wing,’ Garner said. ‘It was for a new role and God, I wanted it so badly. And I got down and I tested for it.’
The Houston-born star added, ‘When I didn’t get it, I had to go to the desert… and just sit there for a couple of days.’
Garner said the getaway marked her ‘first time in Palm Springs’ by herself, as she recuperated emotionally after missing out on the Aaron Sorkin-created series, which starred Martin Sheen, Allison Janney and the late John Spencer.
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Garner for further comment on the story.
Jennifer Garner, 54, has opened up about how she dealt with an earlier career setback that ultimately worked in her favor, as she sought to land a role on NBC’s The West Wing
Garner currently stars on the Peacock series The Five Star Weekend. Pictured at an event for the series last month in LA
Speaking with the outlet Flaunt earlier this year, Garner specified that she had auditioned for the part of Ainsley Hayes, which Emily Procter subsequently landed.
‘I love Aaron Sorkin’s writing,’ Garner said. ‘I love words. I love how dense the language and the dialogue’ is.
On the podcast with Grede, Garner said that the experience came with the territory of being an entertainer, as resilience is a key trait to have in an industry choc full of rejection.
‘Do you know how many auditions or meetings I’ve gone on that I’ve gotten down to here, to here, and not gotten?’ Garner said. ‘And then you do get one and you take it. It’s like this big thing and you think, “Oh great, this is going to be amazing.”‘
She continued, ‘You get it and you sell it with everything you have and it just lies there on the floor.’
Garner said that following The West Wing disappointment, ‘Like two weeks later, Alias came to me.’
‘So what is it? Rejection is God’s protection? Whatever that is, I’m all for that. Let’s believe that, you know? Let’s go with that.’
Garner starred as Sydney Bristow during the duration of Alias’ five-season run on ABC from 2001-2006. Her co-stars on the J.J. Abrams series included Ron Rifkin, Carl Lumbly, and an up-and-coming Bradley Cooper.
In the interview, Garner also spoke about the challenges she faced as a working actress following her 2015 separation from ex-husband Ben Affleck after taking less roles in the previous years to focus on her family.
The actress appeared on the podcast Aspire With Emma Grede on Tuesday
The said that she came close to being cast on the NBC political drama The West Wing prior to her breakout role on the Fox thriller Alias
Garner previously specified that she had auditioned for the part of Ainsley Hayes, which Emily Procter subsequently landed; Procter pictured in a still from the show with John Spencer
Garner said that following The West Wing disappointment, ‘Like two weeks later, Alias came to me’; Pictured in a still from Alias
Garner starred as Sydney Bristow during the duration of Alias’ five-season run on ABC from 2001-2006; Pictured in a still
‘I panicked when I was first out of my marriage and realized I had taken such a step back in my work, and suddenly I realized, like, “I don’t know how long I’ll be able to work,”‘ Garner explained.
She said of the entertainment industry: ‘This isn’t a career that’s like, “Hey, you’re 60, you’re 55, you’re 43? Come on, let’s pay you more than you’ve ever made.”‘
‘I was suddenly like, “Wait a minute. I have to take care of myself. I have to take care of these kids. I didn’t get some huge payout.” So what is it gonna be?’
Garner said she and her manager ‘got very calculated’ and took inventory of what direction she wanted to go in balancing parenthood with her career.
‘I said, “I can work in Los Angeles. I can’t leave these kids for six months at a time,”‘ she said. ‘I would love to. I love going on location. That is not this time in my career.’
‘And so it was like, “OK, what can we make happen? How can we do it?” And we just got really targeted and still about it.’
Garner currently stars on the Peacock series The Five Star Weekend.
