Jennifer Garner Left Los Angeles to Spend ‘a Couple of Days’ By Herself After Losing Out on “The West Wing”. She Landed “Alias ”‘2 Weeks Later’

Jennifer Garner looked back at a role she missed out on during her recent appearance on Aspire with Emma Grede

The actress, 54, looked back at missing out on a role in The West Wing , recalling it as a rejection she took particularly hard

While Garner took the news hard, just weeks later, Alias came into play

Jennifer Garner believes that everything happens for a reason.

During an appearance on Aspire with Emma Grede , the actress, 54, opened up about handling rejection, noting that getting good at it is part of persisting as an actor.

"Do you know how many auditions or meetings I've gone on that I've gotten down to here, to here , and not gotten?" she posed.

Garner continued, "And then you do get one and you take it. It's like this big thing and you think, 'Oh great, this is going to be amazing.' You get it and you sell it with everything you have and it just lies there on the floor. And you just think, 'I loved you. I thought you were great.' "

The Five Star Weekend actress was proud to share she believes she has "good bounce" and a good ability to "shake it off." She did note that it is hard not to take such decisions personally, recalling one time she lost out on a role she really wanted.

"I always think back to this audition for The West Wing . It was for a new role and God, I wanted it so badly. And I got down and I tested for it. And when I didn't get it, I had to like, go to the desert," she admitted.

"It was my first time in Palm Springs by myself and just sit there for a couple of days. And then, like two weeks later, Alias came to me," Garner continued. "So what is it? Rejection is God's protection? Whatever that is, I'm all for that. Let's believe that, you know? Let's go with that."

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 celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The ABC spy series, created by J.J. Abrams , ran for five seasons, from September 2001 to May 2006. Garner played double agent Sydney Bristow in what became her breakthrough role. The cast also included Ron Rifkin, Victor Garber , Michael Vartan, Bradley Cooper , Merrin Dungey, Carl Lumbly, Kevin Weisman and Greg Grunberg.

In a 2026 chat with PEOPLE, Garner said she would "never forget the day we wrapped" on the series. She recalled, "We wrapped actually in April. It'll be 20 years in April. I didn't realize that because I just think about it since we aired, which is almost 25 years."

"The day before our last day was my birthday, I think, and the crew had a plane fly over with a banner for me, so I remember that. And I feel like my mom was visiting. It was very emotional," she continued.

"It was so emotional. I've never been able to watch the last episode because Victor's character dies and I just can't see it. I can't even see it," Garner admitted.