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22 Nov 2025 4:16
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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

    Health & Safety:
    Calls for regulation for at-home medical tests 21:57

    Entertainment:
    Katherine Schwarzenegger has taken inspiration from her father Arnold Schwarzenegger when it comes to her parenting approach 21:55

    Entertainment:
    Jane Fonda admits that it has been a "tough year" following the losses of her friends Gene Hackman, Robert Redford and Diane Keaton 21:25

    Law and Order:
    A man has been arrested and charged following unexplained injuries to a baby in the Wellington region's Hutt Valley 21:17

    Entertainment:
    Whoopi Goldberg wants to be a US ambassador for an overseas country 20:55

    Entertainment:
    Taylor Swift's heartfelt letter to the late Liam Payne is expected to sell for thousands at auction 20:25

    Entertainment:
    Selena Gomez says the early months of her marriage to Benny Blanco have been a "dream" 19:55

    Entertainment:
    Marissa Bode has hit out at the "fan" who stormed past security and embraced Ariana Grande at the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good 19:25

    Motoring:
    Practice for F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix stopped twice, drivers unable to show true pace 18:57

    Netball:
    Silver Ferns midcourter Kate Heffernan has lauded her twin sister's return to the international arena this season 18:57


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