Jennifer Aniston has her ‘Cake’ after years ‘starving for nourishment’

Jennifer Aniston’s character can’t think of anything to wish for when she’s blowing out the candles in a scene from “Cake” -- but in real life the actress appears to be living a wish come true.

“To be having a conversation about my work, as opposed to the other BS, is really so refreshing,” Aniston told the Los Angeles Times’ Lorraine Ali during a recent interview, stopping herself midsentence to make that observation.

“I feel like a plant that’s just been starving for nourishment,” she said. “I needed a good rain.”

Of course, the other stuff -- the paparazzi, the gossip stories in which she’s supposedly agonizing over her ex-husband and his now-wife, the speculation about her relationship and her child-bearing status -- can’t help but sneak into the picture, given the amount of publicity Aniston’s doing for the relatively low-budget “Cake.”

“That part of my life is completely out of control,” she said. “I haven’t gotten jobs because of that attention, and the things they say ... never true!”

To an extent, Aniston’s hands are tied when it comes to fighting back.

“I’ve always been that person who would be like, ‘Hey, that’s a lie!’ But what do you do? Open a Twitter account just so I can say, ‘That’s not true’? It’s an industry based on snapping shots of someone’s cellulite. Who cares?!! Argh, don’t get me started .... “

What is true? The woman who became famous with a little help from her “Friends” truly understands the risk she’s taking with an out-of-character performance that has her acting like anyone but the girl next door.

“I’m fighting through being in your living room for 10 years, every week — every day — and being known as one person,” Aniston said. “That’s a hard shell to shake for an audience and for an industry that’s got to make money on this.

“People have got to believe it.”

Come Sunday at the Golden Globes, where she’s nominated for best actress in a dramatic film, the world will see whether Aniston’s work can make it rain on the awards circuit as well.

Now that would be refreshing.

“Cake” opens wide in U.S. theaters on Jan. 23.

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