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8 Nov 2025 7:27
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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

    Rugby:
    The All Blacks have signed off preparations for tomorrow morning's test against Scotland at Murrayfield 7:17

    Entertainment:
    Sean 'Diddy' Combs has been photographed spending time with former NBA player Sebastian Telfair inside FCI Fort Dix 7:07

    Rugby:
    The All Blacks insist there's no complacency as they try to protect their unbeaten record against Scotland and keep their grand slam hopes alive in Edinburgh tomorrow 7:07

    Golf:
    Daniel Hillier is the best of the Kiwis after two rounds of the penultimate event of the European tour circuit in Abu Dhabi 6:47

    Entertainment:
    Sir David Beckham paid tribute to his wife Victoria Beckham with his knighthood ceremony outfit 6:37

    Entertainment:
    Tori Spelling has formally concluded her marriage to Dean McDermott 6:07

    Politics:
    US prepares for travel chaos as one in 10 flights to be cut amid shutdown 4:37

    Business:
    Labour Weekend - and weather - played a big role in consumer spending in October 21:57

    Entertainment:
    Guillermo del Toro says his long-awaited adaptation of Frankenstein feels deeply "autobiographical" 21:37

    Accident and Emergency:
    School children are shaken-up after their bus was involved in a fatal crash with a car in Rotorua's Owhata last night 21:17


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