Jennifer Aniston was asked to lose 30 pounds to land 'Friends' role

Hollywood A-lister Jennifer Aniston was forced to drop 30 pounds (14kg) in order to land her career launching role in the all-time popular sitcom Friends, reported Mirror UK.

In a new book released as part of the 25th anniversary of the iconic series, Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era, author Saul Austerlitz said Aniston was asked to slim down significantly in order to portray Rachel Green.

PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN

"She had to lose thirty pounds if she wanted to stay in Hollywood," Austerlitz says in his book. "Los Angeles was a tough place to be an actress - it was a tough place to be a woman - and Jennifer Aniston's agent was reluctantly leveling with her."

He went on to add, "Aniston was hardly fat - everyone could see she was beautiful - but at the show she would one day become indelibly associated with, later made a point of noting, the camera added ten pounds."

PHOTO: CBS

Aniston had previously talked about the pressure she faced to be skinny in a 1996 cover story for Rolling Stone.

Jennifer admitted she had to cut out certain foods, including mayonnaise sandwiches on white bread, which she called "the most delicious thing in the world."

The actor had then said, "My agent gave it to me straight. Nicest thing he ever did... The disgusting thing of Hollywood - I wasn’t getting lots of jobs 'cause I was too heavy."

PHOTO: MIRROR

Despite the harsh words, the Horrible Bosses star admitted she has been thankful that the comments made her change her diet.

Sh added, "I was like, 'What?!' But my diet was terrible. Milkshakes and French fries with gravy. It was a good thing to start paying attention." The We're the Millers star, now 50, appeared on the hit show from 1994 until 2004.

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