Aniston Goes To The Dark Side

There is perhaps no actress that has been the subject of more tabloid fodder this year than Jennifer Aniston. Now she's back in the headlines for what she loves as she releases her first post-"Friends" film.

The new thriller "Derailed" opened this weekend with a strong $13 million dollars. In the film, Aniston plays a character very different than any other role she has taken.

In part two of the one-on-one interview, she tells The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith that it is a "tricky" movie.

"I wanted to get off the shelf," she says. "It's known as a movement into another food group. I always wanted to do a thriller. And this was such a well-written one. There was not a loophole in it."

It is a thriller that scared her when she read the script. "I had to put it down and turn on the television, put on sitcoms," she says. "But definitely, it just kept surprising me."

The film does not have an American feel to it either. "It kind of feels like an old '70s film, which is what I loved about it," Aniston says.

In "Derailed," Aniston and Clive Owen play strangers who meet on a train and begin an adulterous relationship. Aniston's character is not a particularly nice person.

"Let's not judge," Aniston says, laughing. "I'm just trying to do the best I can. She's just doing the best she can. A little complicated. She's a little layered, a little lost. Come on, she sees Clive Owen on a train. What would you do?"

The affair has disastrous results when the couple is attacked, including a brutal sexual assault on Aniston's character. It was a difficult scene for Aniston

"Well, it's not the easiest thing to do," she says. "It's not the most fun thing to do. But I was given the greatest circumstances: safe, rehearsed, choreographed, not reckless, quick, and done. It was hard, very hard. Not as hard as it was to watch it, truthfully. But harder to watch it than to actually do it because it's so technical."

And after 10 years on the incredibly successful show "Friends" and many hit films, Aniston knows a lot about the technical aspects of acting. In that time, she has become one of America's most beloved actresses. Aniston also knows there is a price for that fame, but she says it's worth it.

"It's not just being famous. It's my job," she says. "It's what I get to do. It's acting. Famous is sort of a very bizarre part of it, of course. But I love my job. I couldn't really do anything else. I don't want to do anything else. So, you just figure out a way to deal with all of that. Keep your eyes forward. And just keep walking. And don't look at the newsstands. And don't read anything. And just know that this comes with the dinner. And know that you will do as much as you can to control it when they go too far. And, hopefully, things will shift. It's in that strange place right now. And just, hopefully, we will find some more interesting things to think about and read about."

Asked what this last year has been like for her, she answers with laughter: "Didn't you read about it? No. No. This year's good. It's behind me. I wear it as a badge of honor. It's been a great learning experience for me. And I wouldn't do it over. I wouldn't do anything over. And I really mean that."

Note: During this interview, Smith brought up the subject of her alleged love interest, Vince Vaughn. In most interviews there are ground rules on what not to discuss, but there were no ground rules this time. Every time Smith mentioned Vince Vaughn, Aniston would kick Smith with a smile on her face.