Jennifer Aniston's struggle to 'escape' her Friends character

The star opened up about doubting her acting skills after Friends. Photo / Getty Images

Friends star Jennifer Aniston has opened up about her struggle to escape being "Rachel" and her doubts about her acting skills.

Aniston revealed how she really felt about playing Rachel in a conversation with Reese Witherspoon and Helena Bonham Carter, according to the Sun.

When the women were asked if they'd ever struggled with the way they were perceived in the film industry, Aniston was quick to respond.

"Oh my God, yes. You just exhaust yourself. I mean, I could not get Rachel Green off my back for the life of me," the actress admitted.

"I could not escape 'Rachel from Friends', and it's on all the time and you're like, 'Stop playing that f***ing show!"

She went on to say that The Good Girl was the first time she was able to "shed" the Rachel character.

"But I remember the panic that set over me, thinking, 'Oh God, I don't know if I can do this. Maybe they're right. Maybe everybody else is seeing something I'm not seeing, which is you are only that girl in the New York apartment with the purple walls.

The star opened up about doubting her acting skills after Friends. Photo / Getty Images

"So, I was almost doing it for myself just to see if I could do something other than that. And it was terrifying because you're doing it in front of the world."

Aniston went on to tell the Hollywood Reporter that she fought with herself and who she was in the industry.

"It was constantly about trying to prove that I was more than that person.

"But there is such a freedom in getting older because you just stop giving a crap.

"Once you play comedy, they don't think you can do the drama; and if you're only seen as a dramatic actor, they don't think you can do comedy.

"They forget that we're actors and we actually have it all in there. It's just about finding it and accessing it and getting the material."

Aniston is still close with her former castmates Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.

The actors starred on 10 seasons of the show, leaving fans distraught when it ended in 2004.

But the cast will soon come together again for a reunion special. It's set to be filmed in August because of delays during the Covid-19 pandemic.