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28 Dec 2025 0:54
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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

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    Entertainment:
    The Wire star James Ransone has passed away at the age of 46 21:50

    Entertainment:
    Chris Pratt has revealed that seeing his son "fight for his life" led him to devote his life to God 21:20

    Environment:
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    Entertainment:
    Elsie Hewitt has emotionally reflected on becoming a mom days after she and boyfriend Pete Davidson welcomed their first child into the world 20:50

    Entertainment:
    Olivia Rodrigo and Louis Partridge have reportedly split after two years of dating 20:20

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    Sir Elton John and David Furnish have celebrated each other on the 20th anniversary of their civil partnership and their 11th wedding anniversary 19:50

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    Landon Barker and his girlfriend Skyla Sanders dec lared "eating a lot of food together" is one reason their relationship is strong 19:20

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    Entertainment:
    Oona Chaplin contemplated changing her surname early on in her acting career to dodge nepotism claims 18:50


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