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29 Dec 2025 21:40
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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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    George W. Bush wants Oh Happy Day played at his funeral 21:38

    Environment:
    Auckland fire crews are tackling a 150-metre-long vegetation fire on Mullins Road, near the Ardmore Airport 21:17

    Entertainment:
    Sigourney Weaver has addressed "legitimate" concerns over her kissing scene with Jack Champion 21:08

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    Amanda Bynes says she has shed almost 30 pounds after using Ozempic 20:38

    Entertainment:
    Michael Bolton feels "deeply grateful" to be surrounded by family amid his brain cancer battle 20:08

    Entertainment:
    Chrissy Teigen knocked out her veneers trying to open a candy cane 19:38

    Entertainment:
    Chrissy Teigen was rushed to the dentist after she knocked out one of her front veneers while preparing a Christmas activity that involved candy canes for her children 19:08

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    Entertainment:
    Sonny Bono's widow has filed an appeal in her long-running royalties battle with Cher 18:38


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