News | Entertainment
24 Feb 2026 10:34
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   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.”

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     24 Feb: Rihanna is still trying to understand her "postpartum hair era"
     24 Feb: Eric Dane was "starting to lose his ability to speak" before his death
     24 Feb: Daniel Radcliffe has claimed the late Michael Gambon "f**** around all the time" while filming the Harry Potter movies
     24 Feb: Denise Richards has claimed Aaron Phypers' alleged abuse was a "slow burn"
     24 Feb: Katie Price is in talks for a new musical about her life
     24 Feb: Johnny Depp helped ease Eric Dane's financial worries in the months leading up to his death
     24 Feb: Jennifer Aniston and Jim Curtis have set rules on how to solve tension in their relationship
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Early positive signs for young Highlanders' loose forward Lucas Casey More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Regional New Zealand appears to be leading the charge - as overall retail sales see a lift More...



     Today's News

    Environment:
    Delving into ‘deep time’: what NZ’s ancient past reveals about its present 10:27

    Soccer:
    In Premier League football, Manchester United and Everton are scoreless at halftime 10:27

    Entertainment:
    Rihanna is still trying to understand her "postpartum hair era" 10:21

    National:
    Desperate, intelligent, irreverent: in Big Kiss, Bye-Bye, Claire-Louise Bennett breaks up with illusions 10:17

    National:
    Why are the phrases ‘globalise the intifada’ and ‘from the river to the sea’ so contested? 10:07

    International:
    Her son enlisted to fight for Ukraine. When his body was identified, it brought relief 10:07

    Law and Order:
    Auckland Police are hunting 35-year-old Tevita Lasa, who's wanted in relation to a burglary 10:07

    Entertainment:
    Eric Dane was "starting to lose his ability to speak" before his death 9:51

    Business:
    Regional New Zealand appears to be leading the charge - as overall retail sales see a lift 9:27

    Entertainment:
    Daniel Radcliffe has claimed the late Michael Gambon "f**** around all the time" while filming the Harry Potter movies 9:21


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd