News | Entertainment
18 Feb 2026 19:07
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
     18 Feb: Ted Danson has revealed Cheers was almost cancelled during its first season
     18 Feb: Savannah Guthrie dec lared "it's never too late to do the next right thing" as she made a fresh appeal for her mother's safe return
     18 Feb: Wiz Khalifa has been left devastated by his father's "sudden" death after he "decided not to wake up"
     18 Feb: Glen Powell and Joe Jonas faked an arrest to prank his sister Leslie
     18 Feb: Linda Hamilton's Dark Winds role had a "very specific" unexpected connection to her late mother
     18 Feb: Maya Hawke and Christian Lee Hutson have officially said "I do"
     18 Feb: Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime performance has been cleared of any broadcast violations following a review by the Federal Communications Commission
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Leicester Fainga'anuku's been benched for Sunday's Super Rugby clash between the Crusaders and Brumbies in Christchurch More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    The Reserve Bank says inflation's too high, but it's actually worried it could soon end up too low More...



     Today's News

    Entertainment:
    Ted Danson has revealed Cheers was almost cancelled during its first season 18:57

    Business:
    The Reserve Bank says inflation's too high, but it's actually worried it could soon end up too low 18:57

    Health & Safety:
    Pharmac's being urged to give blood cancer patients assurance on what treatments are being funded in the coming years 18:37

    Entertainment:
    Savannah Guthrie dec lared "it's never too late to do the next right thing" as she made a fresh appeal for her mother's safe return 18:27

    International:
    Equal time rule leads CBS to pull Stephen Colbert's James Talarico interview 18:17

    Rugby League:
    Tiger Woods could be a contender for the US Ryder Cup golf captaincy next year 18:07

    Entertainment:
    Wiz Khalifa has been left devastated by his father's "sudden" death after he "decided not to wake up" 17:57

    Business:
    The Reserve Bank's kept the OCR unchanged at 2.25 percent - and expects it'll stay there for most of this year 17:27

    Entertainment:
    Glen Powell and Joe Jonas faked an arrest to prank his sister Leslie 17:27

    Business:
    Disagreement within the Reserve Bank, on how soon to again raise the Official Cash Rate 16:57


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd