Jennifer Aniston Faces Worst Fear For ‘Cake’; Reveals Dream Superhero Role

Getting into character for her role in “Cake” was anything but a piece of… well, you get it… for Jennifer Aniston.

Jennifer assumed the part of Claire Simmons – a woman who suffers from chronic pain.

“The leg was shattered, the back was broken, the neck,” Jennifer told Access Hollywood‘s Liz Hernandez of her character’s condition. “There’s not one thing that doesn’t hurt or even that it hurts to breathe and just basically being conscious of the right leg; being conscious of not being able to walk and get up or nothing.”

PHOTOS: ‘Cake’ Set: Jennifer Aniston, Anna Kendrick & More!

The movie also forced Jennifer to face her biggest phobia in life – drowning. In the film, Jennifer’s character takes water therapy lessons from her personal trainer Bonnie, played by Mamie Gummer.

“I have a thing about being submerged from a kid. I drove my tricycle into a pool, sunk to the bottom ’cause I wasn’t ready enough to let go of the darn thing,” she explained of her fear’s origin. “I have a really hard time going under water… It was a day of kinda getting a little panicked.”

WATCH: ‘Cake’ Director: What Surprised Him Most About Jennifer Aniston?

Aquawoman may not be in her future, but Jennifer does have her claws on another superhero part – Catwoman – when Liz asked her which character she’d like to play.

“I don’t know, any of them,” Jennifer replied.

“I think you would make an awesome Catwoman,” Liz suggested, to which Jennifer agreed.

Jennifer’s signature bangin’ bod would look great in the catsuit, but she had to lay off the gym for “Cake.”

PHOTOS: Critics’ Choice Awards Red Carpet

“Your mood is low, your energy is kaput,” she told Liz at the film’s Los Angeles press junket on Friday. “It was really helpful for the part that I was playing. Just to sort of be that lethargic and … [not] giving a crap anymore. So, it was hard. It was hard to go back into working out afterwards.

“Re-train the brain and then also, God, trying to shed weight and stuff that sort of used to be so easy,” the 45-year-old said. “Two weeks and boom you’re back.. not.. no.. not anymore.”

However, the actress looked in fine form at Thursday night’s Critics’ Choice Movie Awards in a red plunging Gucci tuxedo.

“It really worked out and a beautiful color,” she said of her outfit from the prior night.

In terms of her personal life, Jennifer — who has been engaged to Justin Theroux since August 2012 — is tired of all the age-old pregnancy rumors splashing the cover of tabloids nearly every month. In fact, she made it clear that if she has news to share, she’ll break it herself!

“Honestly, that’ll be a fun announcement to be able to shout to the world. Everybody keeps trying to shout it and how did they know? That’s the other thing. Are people gonna figure out? How did they know we’re pregnant with twins? How did we know that we have triplets, you know?” she pondered.

Take a slice out of “Cake” when it hits theaters January 23.

Paige Feigenbaum

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