Molly Shannon is sharing memories of being a struggling actress while waiting tables — and watching one of her frequent customers, Jennifer Aniston, from afar.
The Saturday Night Live alum spoke on Late Night With Seth Meyers on Tuesday, July 14, saying, “I worked in a lot of restaurants.”
“I worked at this place Cravings and Jennifer Aniston would always come in before she was really famous,” Shannon, 61, added. “And I would study her. I was like, ‘Wow, she’s like a real [actress.]’”
Shannon continued: “She’d have her hair blown dry straight … She took her agents all out for lunch and she had like, crystal blue eyes. And I was like, ‘Whoa, she is all business.’ So I would stand at my hostess stand, studying what it was like to become a superstar, studying Jennifer Aniston.”
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Aniston, 57, landed her breakout role on Friends in 1994, with the series officially premiering on NBC on September 22, 1994.
Shannon, meanwhile, would find her own success, joining the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1995, as a mid-season replacement, and remaining on the show for six seasons until 2001.
Shannon was recently honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with her longtime costar Will Ferrell among those on hand to share a few words about Shannon’s successful career journey.
Ferrel, 58, said at the ceremony on Monday, June 22, that he still remembered the night Shannon first performed in character as the iconic Mary Katherine Gallagher on SNL, saying he could hear the roar of the crowd from backstage.
“As I was changing, I’m hearing Molly perform the character and I’m hearing, and I’m feeling the stands shake with laughter,” he shared. “To the point where I thought, ‘Oh my God, I haven’t heard laughter like this so far, in the three shows we’ve done.’ And it hit me. It was such an emotional moment because I remember, thinking, ‘Oh. We’re going to be okay.’ That Molly has saved us, like, at least we have one funny character that will drive.”
