What left Jennifer Aniston terrified while filming Cake?

The former Friends star, who portrays a woman battling chronic pain in the drama, had to be immersed in water in one scene, as her character undergoes aquatic therapy as a means of pain relief.

But she admitted shooting the scene brought up painful memories for her, telling People.com: “I basically have a real fear of going underwater. As a kid, I drove my tricycle into the pool and [now] I can’t go underwater.

“To get the one shot of me going under with the weights, I think we did that 30 times. It was the hardest day of my life,” she added.

Jennifer said she can empathise with her character, Claire Simmons, who also seeks relief in drugs and alcohol.

“I unfortunately have watched a lot of very extraordinary people suffer pretty extraordinary circumstances due to [addiction],” she said. “But what was really eye-opening to me was that [in] the chronic pain community… these people are just trying to feel normal and feel a flicker of nothing for a second.”

The 45-year-old actress, who has received Golden Globe and SAG award nominations for her performance, described the awards buzz as the icing on the top of the cake. She’s also amazed by all the positive praise the film has received.

“We were a teensy-weensy movie made for four dollars and we poured our hearts into it and everyone worked so hard, so that this is happening on top of that, it’s just like a huge giant juicy cherry on top,” she said.

Cake, which also stars Felicity Huffman, Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington and Mamie Gummer, opens in UK cinemas on February 20.