Allison Janney Reveals Agent Told Her She Could Only Play "Aliens and Lesbians"
Allison Janney sat down as the first guest on CNN's new interview series "Coming Up" and recalled an agent telling her early in her career that she could only play two kinds of roles: "aliens and lesbians."
The Oscar winner told host Elizabeth Wagmeister, formerly Variety's chief correspondent, that the remark came because of her height. Janney is six feet tall and described herself as "tall and imposing" during the conversation, which was published on 19 August 2026 by Variety. CNN shared a clip of the moment on its official TikTok account on 17 August, captioning it with the note that an agent had told Janney she would only be able to play two types of roles (CNN TikTok).
Janney quoted the agent's exact words: "What can you play? Aliens and lesbians." She told Wagmeister she has since played lesbians on screen. She has not yet played an alien.
The story has a punchline that writes itself, but the career behind it is the real headline. Janney said she got her "big break" in Hollywood at the age of 40, according to CNN. Her acting career now spans 37 years and counting. Along the way she has collected seven Primetime Emmy Awards — four for "The West Wing," two for "Mom," and one for her guest role on "Masters of Sex" — plus an Academy Award for her supporting performance in "I, Tonya" (Variety).
Janney told Wagmeister that her career has only gotten better as she has gotten older. She called herself "living proof" that women in Hollywood can persevere as they age.
She also spoke about shyness. Janney said she has always been shy and not fully comfortable speaking as herself, and that acting lets her step outside herself — to be someone else entirely. It is an admission that reframes a towering, award-laden career as a kind of refuge.
Most recently, Janney appeared on the Netflix thriller series "The Diplomat," for which she earned an Emmy nomination, as CNN reported. The full episode of "Coming Up" is streaming on CNN.com.
"Coming Up" features Wagmeister interviewing Emmy-nominated celebrities on topics ranging from career-defining moments to news-making stories, as described in CNN's coverage. Janney's episode, combining the Emmy nomination talk with the anecdote about her early-career agent, gave the new series a launch guest with 37 years of stories to tell.
