Jennifer Aniston is reflecting on the time she almost joined Saturday Night Live before her Friends breakthrough.

During her appearance on the October 13 episode of Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, the 56-year-old actress shared how she turned down the chance to become part of the NBC sketch comedy series. 

“I always thought I was such hot s—. The story of that is all very confusing,” Aniston recalled.

She explained that she met with SNL creator Lorne Michaels in New York, where she also ran into Adam Sandler and David Spade. 

“Honestly, today I’d have to ask Lorne, because I remember, I was in New York City, and I had a meeting with Lorne Michaels, and I ran into [Adam] Sandler and [David] Spade in the room right outside,” she said. 

“And I knew Sandler forever.”

When Shepard asked if her friendship with Sandler started before Friends, Aniston confirmed it did. 

“Yes, he was very good friends with Charlie Schlatter, who played Ferris Bueller in the television version of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” she said, referencing her early TV role as Ferris’ sister. 

Joking about how long ago that was, she added, “So we met at Jerry’s Deli in like 1912.”

The Morning Show star went on to say that at the time, she had some doubts about the environment at SNL. 

“I don’t know why I had this self-righteous attitude of ‘I don’t know if women are treated the way they should be treated on this show,’ ” she admitted. 

“It’s a very male-dominated [show]. I would love to be here if it was in the Gilda Radner day.”

Looking back, Aniston acknowledged that her memory of the moment is a bit fuzzy but said she ultimately moved on when Friends came along. 

“I mean, this is the brain that semi-remembers things that are back that far. Something like that. I can’t remember, but I just remember Friends then happened,” she said.

In a 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Aniston elaborated on how she approached Lorne Michaels during that time. 

“I was so young and dumb and I went into Lorne’s office and I was like, ‘I hear women are not respected on this show,’ ” she recalled. “I don’t remember exactly what I said next, but it was something like, ‘I would prefer if it were like the days of Gilda Radner and Jane Curtin.’ ”

Laughing at her younger self, she added, “I mean, it was such a boys’ club back then, but who the f— was I to be saying this to Lorne Michaels?! So yes, adorably that happened and I’ve hosted Saturday Night Live a couple of times, and I love it so much.”

She previously told The Howard Stern Show in 2019 that her concern back then came from wanting more equality. 

“I was like, ‘I think that women need to be treated better here,’ ” she said. 

“Because it was such a boys club. You’re just, not the brightest when you’re in your early 20s. I didn’t lecture him, I was just saying what I would hope if I was to do this, what I would hope it to be.”

“I was such a young twit,” she added with a laugh.

Though she never joined the cast, Aniston later hosted SNL twice — once in 1999 and again in 2004. 

The experience left a lasting impression on those around her. In honour of the show’s 50th anniversary earlier this year, alum Molly Shannon described her as “very laid back” and “an easygoing professional,” adding, “She had been in television for a long time.”

While Aniston may have turned down SNL early in her career, the decision ultimately paved the way for Friends, the series that made her a global icon.