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20 Jan 2026 17:58
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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.”

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

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     Today's News

    Entertainment:
    Channing Tatum "peed on" Amanda Seyfried's leg and then "ran away" while they were filming Dear John 17:40

    Business:
    Welcome news for shareholders - from one of our largest companies' change in direction 17:37

    Cricket:
    A positive outlook for Black Caps all-rounder Michael Bracewell as cricket's T20 World Cup looms 17:27

    Entertainment:
    Emma Watson, Sir Lenny Henry and Sir Elton John are among the nominees for the British Diversity Awards 2026 17:10

    Politics:
    Some schools are scrambling to fill teaching positions before term one 16:57

    Entertainment:
    James Van Der Beek is planning to make new year's resolutions this spring, because he doesn't believe January should be the first month of the year 16:40

    International:
    Why could Donald Trump's Board of Peace be a threat to the United Nations? 16:17

    Law and Order:
    Auckland Police have seized a dark-coloured Toyota van they believe was used in a shooting in Onehunga on Friday morning 16:17

    Entertainment:
    Sir Idris Elba almost missed out on his knighthood because the consideration letter "got lost in a pile of post" 16:10

    Basketball:
    An ACL injury has called time on the NBL basketball season of the Breakers' American import forward Rob Baker 16:07


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