Ellen DeGeneres believes ‘Finding Nemo’ saved her life.
The 59-year-old comedian admitted that, at the time, she hadn’t worked in three years and the offer of a Pixar film saved her life.
Speaking at a London press conference on Monday (11.07.16) to promote ‘Finding Dory’ – the sequel to the smash hit 2003’s ‘Finding Nemo’ – she said: "Well I had no job offers at the time. I hadn’t worked in three years. I was thrilled that I had been offered anything. I was about to start working at the Olive Garden! I couldn’t believe I was being offered anything, much less a part in a Pixar film, so it was amazing."
Ellen also explained that it was hugely advantageous to the launch of her own talk show, which has garnered 38 Daytime Emmy’s since it began in 2003.
The actress explained: "I think that the coincidence was that I was doing this for three years because it took three years to do Nemo, and it came out coincidentally when I launched my talk show. So it came at an amazing time, obviously. It certainly saved my life in many ways."
Director Andrew Stanton also revealed he wrote the role of Dory specifically for Ellen.
The 50-year-old writer explained: "I couldn’t get her specific voice out of my head. I was writing furiously, and it was the first time I’ve ever written with a specific actor in mind. And I called you and I said, ‘Hi I’m Andrew, I’ve written this part for you and if you don’t take it I’m screwed.’"
Ellen is grateful that Andrew seemed to be unaware of her work predicament.
She said: "It’s just that kind of confidence that Andrew had. I don’t even know if he was aware of my situation, because he’s so immersed in his world, he probably didn’t realise that I wasn’t working and that I wasn’t desirable. If he knew that I wasn’t desirable he may not have asked me. People might have said, ‘why do you want her?’"
Forbes have reported that ‘Finding Dory’ is just a whisker away from surpassing ‘The Lion King’s’ box office takings in the US, and the film opens in the UK on July 29.
Ellen Degeneres says Finding Nemo saved her life
