“NCIS” with Jennifer Aniston?
The “Friends” star could have played this role
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If things had turned out differently, Jennifer Aniston might have starred in a pilot for NCIS. That could have happened.
In September 2023, some people behind the long-running series “Navy CIS” (“NCIS”) made it public that there was once a chance that Jennifer Aniston (55) could have taken on one of the roles. What exactly it is and how the whole thing would have changed the series is now out loud the entertainment website “CinemaBlend” to be seen in a special special.
Role in “JAG” could have led to “NCIS” character
Entertainment Tonight’s special “NCISVerse: The First 1,000” celebrates 1,000 episodes of the franchise, spread across the crime series and its spinoffs. According to the report, it says that “Friends” star Aniston was in talks to play the character Vivian Blackadder. This appears in two episodes of the series “JAG – On Order of Honor”, of which “Navy CIS” itself is a spin-off.
The two episodes were a so-called backdoor pilot that was used to test whether the whole thing could possibly hold its own as a separate series. The “NCIS” investigative team for the episodes at the time included the character Vivian Blackadder, who was played by Robyn Lively (52) – and not by Aniston.
Unfortunately, those in charge didn’t see Lively as suitable for the Blackadder role. “JAG” and “NCIS” creator Donald P. Bellisario (88) told TV Guide in 2003 that Lively was “a very good actress,” but “she was a little too soft for this type of role “. This ultimately led to the character disappearing from the “NCIS” series completely and instead Sasha Alexander (50) joined the team as Caitlin Todd. However, if Aniston had played Vivian Blackadder and she had been well received, then Blackadder might have been part of the team after all.
With the Industry magazine “The Hollywood Reporter” Casting director Susan Bluestein (77) and executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson (83), among others, spoke about the “NCIS” troupe last year. “I think Jennifer Aniston was available at the time and her name was being talked about,” Johnson recalled. Bluestein believed, “I don’t recall ever offering the role to Jennifer Aniston. However, Jennifer Aniston may very well have been a name we discussed.”