Anna Faris Never Thought She Would ‘End Up in Comedy’

Anna Faris made audiences laugh during her time on the comedy Mom. She played the character Christy on the show for seven years. Here’s why Faris says she never thought she would have a career in comedy.

Anna Faris got her first taste of fame in college

Faris says she started getting recognized during college. Someone recognized her from a training video she was in. “My first taste of fame was when I was 19,” says Faris in her book, Unqualified. “I was walking across the University of Washington campus and this girl came up to me and excitedly said, ‘I just got hired at Red Robin and you’re in the training video!’”

Faris says she played a hostess in the Red Robin training video. A Red Robin employee even recognized her years later when she went to eat there with her husband at the time, Chris Pratt.

Why Anna Faris never thought she would be in comedy

In her book, Faris says she never thought she would end up in comedy. It might be hard to believe, but the actor never thought she was funny. “I never expected to end up in comedy,” wrote Faris. “My family maintains that I was a funny kid, but I remember myself at least in public, as quite and serious. Funny thoughts were always in the back of my head, but I never said them out loud because it was way too terrifying.”

Faris also says she was not the class clown when she was younger. She was afraid to be too loud or draw attention to herself because she was fearful of being made fun of.

“I couldn’t stand the thought of ridicule from my classmates,” wrote Faris. “There was nothing scarier to me than the idea of other kids making fun of me, so I was never the class clown. I was never outspoken. I suppressed a lot. As a result, ending up in comedy was a huge surprise, and I’m still not sure if I embraced it as my thing.”

Anna Faris’ big break

Faris’ big break was in the 2000 film Scary Movie. She says it was a huge step in her career.

“Though I acted before Scary Movie, landing that role felt like going straight from a high school baseball team to the majors,” wrote Faris. She says the movie helped hone her acting skills. She reveals comedy acting isn’t all fun and games. When it comes down to technique, it takes a lot of practice. “The physicality of comedy acting—learning how to fall, for example—is taxing,” she wrote.

The House Bunny star also says she never worked that hard in her life before. “I went from being a lazy college stoner to working 15-hour days where things were actually expected of me. That was a great wake-up call.” Faris says she understood what it meant to work hard after joining the Scary Movie cast.

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