Allison Janney says that in her 20s, she was always getting cast as a 40-year-old. It makes sense, cause she's just kind of elegant. In fact, she was about 40 when she got the role that would make her career – as the press secretary CJ Cregg on the West Wing. She won four Emmys for the role, which allowed her to stretch her talents.
Janney went on to play Bonnie on the CBS sitcom Mom for 8 years. She also earned the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her 2017 performance in I, Tonya. These days, you can catch Allison Janney in the new movie Miss You, Love You, as well as the Netflix drama The Diplomat.
When Allison Janney joined us back in 2014, she was starring on two TV shows – Showtime's Masters of Sex and CBS's Mom. She spoke to us about her early days of acting (including auditioning for an intimidatingly handsome Paul Newman), the ways her mom's background and brother's struggle with addiction gave her insight and empathy for her role in Mom, and much more.
A version of this interview aired in August, 2014