Jennifer Lopez’s Oscar-Nominated Role That Got Away
Jennifer Lopez revealed the one career choice that she regrets to her core even decades later. In her premiere radio appearance on “The Howard Stern Show” (October 15, 2025), The Hollywood Reporter says that the superstar confessed to declining a part that later garnered an Oscar nomination for another actress — a decision that, as she says, “still makes her wonder.”
Jennifer Lopez Biggest Regret
Adrian Lyne’s 2002 film Unfaithful was an erotic thriller that got an Oscar-Nomination. When Lyne came to Lopez for the part, she said no, she had doubts about the script. “The thing is, the script wasn’t very good,” Lopez admitted to Stern, in relation to the screenplay by Alvin Sargent and William Broyles Jr. adapted from Claude Chabrol’s 1969 French film La Femme Infidélé.
Lopez conceded that although she had issues with the script, Lyne ‘made it great’. Diane Lane eventually landed the part, playing opposite Richard Gere in this psyches-of-suburban-marriage meltdown that begins with the wife taking a tryst with a younger Frenchman, portrayed by Olivier Martinez.
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A Decision That Still Haunts
When Stern asked Lopez how she felt about Lane then being nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress, the pop icon responded with characteristic frankness: “It’s funny. I wish it would stop. I wish I could say it doesn’t haunt me. That’s one I said no to, and it was, ‘Why did you turn down working with Adrian Lyne? She replied with, “I didn’t even know what the hell was going on in my mind at the time.
Current Oscar Prospects
Lopez is, interestingly enough, once again in the Oscar talk. She is running in the Best Supporting Actress race for her performance in Bill Condon’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” which will hit theaters on Oct. 10, 2025. The musical drama, adapted from Puig’s 1976 novel and the 1992 stage musical, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2025 to rave reviews and a standing ovation which reportedly made Lopez cry.
But it seems Lopez has taken lessons from her previous setbacks. On being asked if she was going to get an Oscar in the recent interview, she replied, “I don’t have those expectations. I learned my lesson last time”. While noting that any recognition is a plus, “the joy, for me, is in doing it.”
The Interview That Revealed All About Jennifer Lopez
Lopez’s first visit to the long-running SiriusXM show was a noteworthy event on The Howard Stern Show. The wide-ranging chat included not only career regrets, but relationships, Bad Bunny’s upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, and her new film.
Lopez displayed remarkable confidence in the interview for her current projects and showing regret of her former choices while acknowledging that she had been reluctant to come on the show, joking, “That’s why I never wanted to come on here. I’ll get in trouble.” But her openness about both her successes and regrets gave fans an extraordinary, if fleeting, look at the challenges of sustaining a career in entertainment for a quarter-century.
Conclusion
While this is true for Lopez in general, it’s more pronounced for the role that got away, a haunting “what if” on her journey through music, film, and business. When Lopez turned down Unfaithful,” she was already juggling a busy schedule and had no way of knowing that Lyne’s vision would elevate a script she felt was weak into an Oscar-worthy film. Her candidness about this regret highlights professional humility, as well as the wisdom earned from being in the industry for decades.
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