Newman came back to his alma mater Kenyon College to direct Janney when she attended the school
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NEED TO KNOW
- Allison Janney credits Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward for encouraging her to pursue acting during her college years
- Newman directed a play at Kenyon College, where Janney was cast, and Woodward helped young actors gain industry exposure
- Janney has since won an Oscar and seven Emmys and starred in The West Wing as C.J. Cregg
Allison Janney says two Hollywood icons were instrumental in her pursuing a career in show business: Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.
Speaking on a new episode of Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky, the 66-year-old actress spoke about her days at Kenyon College, when she was cast in a play called C.C. Pyle and the Bunion Derby.
Newman was friends with the writer, Michael Cristofer, and had attended Kenyon College. “So he came back to Kenyon to direct this play,” Janney recounted.
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“It was a wild time in my life,” she continued. “A very important time for me as a young, you know, girl — first year in college. And I got cast in this production. I was basically a glorified showgirl. But I did get to work with him, and Joanne was there. And Paul and Joanne were just lovely and instrumental to getting me to come to New York and become a member of the actor studio.”
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Janney added: “And Joanne spent a lot of her time working with us young actors, creating opportunities for us to do theater and to have agents come see you, because you couldn’t get an agent unless they saw you in something. And you know, she just did so much for me and my career starting it off. And it all started at college because Paul went there. So really it was a really, really great relationship I had with them.”
Janney has had an extremely successful career in the years since, and has won an Academy Award and seven Primetime Emmy Awards. She notably starred as White House Press Secretary C.J. Cregg on the political drama series The West Wing from 1999 until 2006.
Janney’s mother, Macy Brooks Janney, born Putnam, was an actress herself and a champion of the arts until she died in 2020.
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