Jennifer Garner Says She Cried in the Bathroom After Felicity Audition Because of ‘Powerful’ Breakup Scene 

Jennifer Garner’s audition for Felicity brought up a lot of emotions for her.

During the actress’ appearance on The Ringer’s Dear Felicity podcast, Garner — who guest starred as Hannah Bibb, the ex-girlfriend of Noel Crane (portrayed by Garner’s then-husband Scott Foley) — opened up about the “emotional” aftermath of her audition for the J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves-created series.

“I remember the audition. I remember going into the bathroom after because the scene was so emotional and I needed to cry,” Garner, 51, shared of what “must have been the breakup scene.”

She continued, “I needed to hide in the bathroom stall and finish the cry that I started in the audition because it was such a powerful scene.”

According to Garner, Abrams, 57, then made her come back to reaudition for the role on The WB show.

“That makes sense to me, because you’re not very good,” host and former Felicity star Greg Grunberg joked. “I totally get it. I mean, notes, notes — you know what? Let me give her a block of notes to take home.”

“I do need that, though,” Garner said. “I’ve always loved a ton of feedback. I love that about working with J.J. and with Matt. They are helpful and they are true directors. They aren’t just like, ‘Okay, that seems fine. You have another one in you?’ They have an idea, and they’re helping guide you to the best version of whatever you show up with.”

The 13 Going on 30 actress added, “That was true in the audition process as well. After the first read, then I really was invested and was like, ‘Oh gosh, I really wanna do this.’”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Although Garner only appeared in a few episodes, she later starred in Abrams’ next television series Alias as protagonist Sydney Bristow from 2001 to 2006. When asked in 2023 about a potential reboot of the sci-fi thriller, she told The View it would be “the most fun ever.” 

However, she stated the final decision would lie in Abrams’ hands, and “nobody has ever really brought it up.”

Felicity is streaming in full on Hulu.