Alyson Hannigan’s cinematic career has been marked by several beloved and iconic roles. The actress started her career with several supporting roles in movies like Impure Thoughts and My Stepmother Is an Alien in the 1980s. However, her breakout role came in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in which she played the role of Willow Rosenberg.
But this was just the starting point for Hannigan, who then went on to star as a regular in How I Met Your Mother as Lily Aldrin from 2005-2014. But amid all these amazing gigs, in a past interview, she also detailed a particular role that allegedly cost her an acting job.
A Commercial That Traumatized Alyson Hannigan
Starting a career in the entertainment business is tough for even adults, let alone child actors. While some excel in it and go on to become great actors, others quit in the middle as the pressure is just too much. However, Alyson Hannigan, belonged to the former category, as her journey into showbiz began at a very young age.
What started with posing as a baby model for her photographer mom soon blossomed into a genuine interest in the art of acting. So, she pursued it, and by the age of 4, she was already appearing in commercials. The actress absolutely loved acting and participated in several advertisements. But one ad in particular was quite memorable and challenging for her. It was a commercial for the indigestion medication Mylanta.
Further, in The Drew Barrymore Show, she recounted how meticulously she was bullied for being a part of such an advertisement. She added that the teasing was so hard on her that it almost became a traumatic experience. She added:
I got teased so much about that commercial that it sort of traumatized me a little bit.
Alyson Hannigan further recounted the aftereffects of the bullying and added that she later went into audition for a feminine hygiene product. But as soon as she heard the word “heavy flow,” she quickly left thinking the same bullying would take place here as well.
But despite this, the actress had a deep love and admiration for the art and moved to California to take it more seriously. This was a huge turning point for her, given that she transformed her hobby of acting into a full-time career.
Alyson Hannigan Hated Her Kissing Scenes With Jason Segel
Lily and Marshall would probably be in the top ten of the most beloved couples on screen. While the duo seemed wonderful together on screen, the actor’s portraying them had a little difficulty off-screen. Adding to this, Alyson Hannigan revealed in an interview with Digital Spy in 2008 how much she hated kissing Jason Segel on the show.
The reason being that the actor was a smoker, and she could not handle being around cigarette smoke. She added:
I cannot stand cigarette smoke. (Further) It’s like kissing an ashtray and he’s trying to be polite by having gum or mints, but it doesn’t help.
To tackle this, Segel had suggested an effective but questionable idea to Hannigan. During the pilot of the sitcom, he approached her and added, “Help me stop smoking, and I’ll be your best friend.” To make matters more interesting, the duo started a bet that for every cigarette he smoked, he would owe Hannigan $10. Further adding that towards the end of the first day itself, he owed her $200.
Hannigan added that after that, the actor had stopped smoking for a year. But the stress got him, and he started smoking again.
You can stream all the seasons of How I Met Your Mother on Hulu.
