Jennifer Coolidge on 'Legally Blonde' line she hears from fans the most and whether the 'bend and snap' works

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Jennifer Coolidge is sharing the impact "Legally Blonde" had on her and how her role in the movie follows her to this day.

In a recent interview, Coolidge answered a series of questions about her decades-long career including the best lesson she learned while working on a film, and which one of her lines is quoted back to her the most by fans. 

Coolidge revealed one of the most valuable lessons she learned on a film set came when she was working on "Legally Blonde." Over the course of filming, Coolidge remembers seeing an actor she had watched on television, working as a parking attendant at the film studio. The experience changed the way she viewed the business.

"I remember thinking, we have to be grateful. I was thinking, I could do this movie here, and then it could be back to waitressing. Nothing is written in stone," Coolidge told Deadline.

Jennifer Coolidge learned to be grateful for every role she was cast in, after running into a television actor she recognized working as a parking attendant for the film studio where she was filming "Legally Blonde." (Photo by Jason Merritt)

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She realized what an honor it is to be employed in this business and living with gratitude for working on a film is so important because it could all be gone in the blink of an eye and the opportunity may never come again.

"I remember thinking what a privilege it was to get this job. I was thinking, God, you really have to have gratitude in this business," she explained. "It’s quite a rollercoaster ride being an actor and we have to be thrilled about getting these jobs, because sometimes they don’t come around again for a long time. Or ever."

Aside from teaching her that valuable lesson, "Legally Blonde" and its sequel film also provided Coolidge with her most quotable character in manicurist Paulette Bonafonté. The character is the first to befriend Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Woods when the character arrives at Harvard, remaining her confidant throughout both films.

Coolidge says the line fans most often recite back to her is the one about her "Legally Blonde" character Paulette Bonafonté craving a hot dog. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/WireImage)

Coolidge revealed the line that gets quoted back to her the most from fans is Paulette’s famous line from the "Legally Blonde 2" about craving a hot dog.

"There’s something about the Fourth of July line from "Legally Blonde 2," Coolidge explained. "If I’m out on that day, people just go nuts. I don’t know, it’s probably that line Paulette said, where she goes, ‘You look like the Fourth of July. That makes me want a hot dog real bad.’ I hear that the most."

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If there is one negative thing Coolidge has to say about the film, it’s that the iconic "bend and snap" technique, used in the movie as a way to get male attention, doesn’t actually work in real life. She went as far as calling it "a moment in moviemaking (she) would just totally disagree with."

"I’ve never had bending over work for me like it did in that movie," she said. "I think that the bend and snap is misleading. But I’d have to say when I did do the bend and snap, I was wearing my underwear and I feel like in real life you have to leave it off."

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Coolidge just returned from filming the second season of "The White Lotus," the only member of the cast to return for season 2. She is joined by Aubrey Plaza, F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco and Tom Hollander. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)

Coolidge just got done filming season 2 of the hit HBO Max show "The White Lotus," as the only returning cast member from season 1 of the show. She is joined by Aubrey Plaza, F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco and Tom Hollander.