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17 Oct 2025 4:42
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  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Reese Witherspoon had panic attacks "for weeks" before filming 'Wild'

    The 45-year-old actress admitted making the 2014 movie - which is based on Cheryl Strayed's memoir about getting her life back together by hiking the Pacific Crest Trail - was the biggest career challenge she's ever faced and she turned to hypnosis to calm her fears before she started work on the project


    Speaking to Tracee Ellis Ross for Interview magazine, she admitted: "I was so scared to do that... I had hypnosis, I was so scared. I was having panic attacks for three weeks before I started.

    “There was the nudity, sexuality, and drug-use aspect, but also being alone on camera with no other actors. I hadn’t ever been alone in scenes for days and days. There were probably 25 days of the shoot where I had no other actor opposite me. It was just me and a camera and a backpack. I was like, ‘Is this going to be so boring?’”

    And the 'Big Little Lies' star admitted making the film changed her forever after pushing her to her limits.

    She said: "I don’t know if I’ll ever work that hard again, but it changed me on a cellular level.”

    But Reese - who has Ava, 21, and Deacon, 17, with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, as well as Tennessee, eight, with spouse Jim Toth - thought Cheryl's book was "beautiful and sacred" because it had taught her a lot.

    She said: “[It] was so beautiful and sacred to me because it spoke to me so deeply about how we as women have to save ourselves. There’s no mother or father coming to save us. There’s no spouse.

    "I thought it was radical that at the end of the film, she ends up with no family, no money, no job, no partner, and she’s happy.”

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

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     Today's News

    Law and Order:
    Police investigating the suspicious death of a woman in Pahiatua, west of Palmerston North are asking for the public's help 21:57

    Entertainment:
    Kate Cassidy has recalled her "long, heartfelt" final goodbye to Liam Payne 21:47

    Entertainment:
    Charli xcx will "probably" get a mid-facelift 21:17

    Auckland:
    A person has serious injuries after a crash between a vehicle and pedestrian in Auckland's West Harbour 21:17

    International:
    Release of Virginia Giuffre's memoir renews sex allegations against Prince Andrew 21:07

    Entertainment:
    Dame Emma Thompson never intended to go into acting 20:47

    Entertainment:
    Cat Stevens claims that he was one of the inspirations behind Carly Simon's song You're So Vain 20:17

    Entertainment:
    The Jake Paul vs Gervonta Davis fight will feature an AI judge 19:47

    Entertainment:
    Diane Keaton's family releases cause of death, urging tributes to homelessness services and animal shelters 19:27

    Entertainment:
    Courteney Cox is launching her own signature "personal fragrance" 19:17


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