Jennifer Aniston took method acting to the next level while filming The Break Up.

The Friends alum recently told Vanity Fair in their ‘stars rewatch’ YouTube series that shooting the 2006 romantic dramedy felt “kind of cathartic” after her high-profile split from Brad Pitt.

“[When making the movie], I might have just gone through a separation [that] I’m sure nobody remembers,” Aniston, 56, joked. “It was kind of cathartic to go right from that [into shooting].”

Producers were hesitant to even offer her the role, fearing it might be “insensitive.” But Aniston saw it differently. “I knew it would actually benefit me emotionally just as a human being and also serve the script and the character pretty well,” she explained.

The movie, co-starring Vince Vaughn, follows a couple’s outrageous battle over their shared apartment after a breakup. Aniston remembers filming fondly. “We had one of the best summers shooting this movie,” she said, recalling two weeks of working closely with Vaughn and the writers to improvise scenes that ended up in the final cut.

She believes that’s why the film resonated. “It also allowed for a lot of real conversations that couples have, which I think is why [the movie] hit home for so many people.”

Today, both Aniston and Pitt have long moved on. Aniston is dating author Jim Curtis, while Pitt is with jewellery executive Ines de Ramon.