{"id":6201,"date":"2026-08-19T14:07:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T14:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6201"},"modified":"2026-08-19T14:07:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T14:07:42","slug":"allison-janney-was-told-by-an-agent-she-could-only-play-aliens-and-lesbians-because-im-so-tall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6201","title":{"rendered":"Allison Janney Was Told by an Agent She Could Only Play \u2018Aliens and Lesbians\u2019 Because \u2018I\u2019m So Tall\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\nAllison Janney was the first guest on CNN\u2019s new interview series \u201cComing Up,\u201d hosted by former <em>Variety <\/em>chief correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister, and the Emmy winner revealed the dispiriting advice she heard from a Hollywood agent when she was first starting out in the industry.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6199\">Steven Soderbergh Teams With British Arthouse Chain Everyman, Singani 63 on \u2018A Man Under the Influence\u2019 London Screening Series (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cI remember when I was very young trying to find an agent and I had a meeting with one she said, \u2018What can you play? Aliens and lesbians,&#8217;\u201d Janney revealed. \u201cThat\u2019s what she said to me because I\u2019m so tall. I\u2019ve played lesbians. I haven\u2019t played an alien yet. So maybe\u00a0I\u2019ll play an alien! Yeah, why not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cPeople think because I\u2019m so tall and imposing that must be the way I feel inside, and it never has been,\u201d Janney continued later in the interview about her height. \u201cI\u2019ve always been very shy and not totally comfortable speaking as myself. I think that\u2019s why I love acting so much. I don\u2019t have to be myself. I get to jump into to Grace or whoever I\u2019m playing. But just as me now, I feel not just not as confident as my characters are.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tJanney added, \u201cAt this point in my career, I should be confident, but I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t know why it never happened that way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6197\">\u2018Mutiny\u2019 Review: Jason Statham Dies Hard on a Cargo Ship in a Thriller of Impeccable Bring-the-Pain Timing<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tOver an acting career that has spanned 37 years and counting, Janney has won seven Primetime Emmy Awards (four for \u201cThe West Wing,\u201d two for \u201cMom\u201d and one for guest starring on \u201cMasters of Sex\u201d) and an Oscar for her supporting performance in \u201cI, Tonya,\u201d among accolades from the BAFTAs, Critics\u2019 Choice Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and more. She most recently appeared on the hit Netflix thriller series \u201cThe Diplomat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tDuring her CNN interview, Janney said she is \u201cliving proof\u201d that women in Hollywood can persevere as they get older. She noted: \u201cMy career has only gotten better as I\u2019ve gotten older. And I\u2019m like, thank God. I mean, I\u2019m still \u2014 I know there\u2019s still ageism out there and, and other things that we still have not completely gotten rid of, as far as equality with women and pay. But the roles are far more interesting for women nowadays.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6195\">\u2018Wildwood\u2019 Trailer: Carey Mulligan Voices a Grieving Mother Ready to Tear Apart an Enchanted Forest in New Laika Stop-Motion Film<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tJanney\u2019s full episode of \u201cComing Up\u201d is now streaming on\u00a0CNN.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Allison Janney was told by an agent while starting out in the industry that she would only be able to play aliens and lesbians given her height.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[2257,4828,4829,4830],"class_list":["post-6201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-allison-janney","tag-mom","tag-the-help","tag-the-west-wing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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