Jennifer Aniston Admires ‘Highly Productive’ Longtime Friend Reese Witherspoon: “You Exhaust Me”

Reese Witherspoon is a formidable actress. The actress debuted in the romantic comedy The Man in the Moon when she was just a teenager and went on to star in classics like Legally Blonde and Sweet Home Alabama.

Her friends are all amazed by this ability of hers to absolutely command everything she puts her hand on. “I just look at her, and I think, You exhaust me, just looking at your plate,” Jennifer Aniston, Witherspoon’s The Morning Show co-star and co-executive producer, tells Harper’s Bazaar. “She is one of the most highly productive human beings I’ve ever encountered. It’s incredible.”

She has more recently produced and appeared in critically acclaimed TV shows like Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere, and Apple TV+’s The Morning Show (whose third season will debut in September, as it was recently confirmed). She also leads a well-known reading club, has three children, and owns the Draper James home and apparel line.

How, then, does Witherspoon manage to achieve it all? It seems that not even she is aware. “Gosh, I know. I get excited about work, so I get tons of nervous energy,” Witherspoon tells Harper’s Bazaar for her August cover story. “I’m kind of a high-strung person.”

Her friends agree with her! “I don’t have it in me to do what she does,” her Morning Show co-star Julianna Margulies says. “Reese somehow manages to compartmentalize—and she’s good at being in charge.”

Witherspoon once compared her energy to that of “a squirrel who drank coffee,” but her Big Little Lies co-star Laura Dern has a more forgiving opinion of her close friend. Her energy is described by Dern as a “magnificent holy ambition.” Because Witherspoon is driven by a straightforward goal: putting women’s stories front and center.

Aniston loves her energy! Given their shared history in the same Hollywood circles, Witherspoon and Aniston have been close friends for a very long time. Before shooting The Morning Show, they had already collaborated once, when Witherspoon appeared as Rachel Green, Jennifer Aniston’s sister, in a hilarious and unforgettable appearance on Friends.

In 2019, Witherspoon discussed the encounter with Harper’s Bazaar. “We met on the set of Friends; I played her sister. I was 23 years old and had just had a baby. I was nursing Ava on set, and Jen just kept going, ‘You have a baby?’ I was like, ‘I know, it’s weird,’” she said.

“She was so sweet to me. I was nervous, and she was like, ‘Oh, my gosh—don’t worry about it!’ I marveled at her ability to perform in front of a live audience like that with no nerves. They would change all the lines, and she was just so effortlessly affable, bubbly, and sunny. We’ve been friends ever since,” Witherspoon added.