News | Entertainment
10 Nov 2025 7:52
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   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

     Other Entertainment News
     08 Nov: Seth Meyers has hit back at Donald Trump after the U.S. president attacked him on social media
     08 Nov: Macaulay Culkin has stepped back into his Kevin McCallister role for a new Christmas advertising campaign with a message about family and ageing
     08 Nov: Patti Smith has revealed how she discovered the man who raised her was not her biological father
     08 Nov: Sean 'Diddy' Combs has been photographed spending time with former NBA player Sebastian Telfair inside FCI Fort Dix
     08 Nov: Sir David Beckham paid tribute to his wife Victoria Beckham with his knighthood ceremony outfit
     08 Nov: Tori Spelling has formally concluded her marriage to Dean McDermott
     07 Nov: Guillermo del Toro says his long-awaited adaptation of Frankenstein feels deeply "autobiographical"
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Formula One driver Liam Lawson has a prime opportunity in the Brazilian Grand Prix, which is underway from Sao Paulo More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Unpaid tax bills may be catching up with many struggling businesses More...



     Today's News

    Motoring:
    F1 live Brazil: Oscar Piastri fifth after penalty, Lando Norris wins Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix 7:47

    Business:
    Unpaid tax bills may be catching up with many struggling businesses 7:47

    Netball:
    A new-look shooting combination has helped the Silver Ferns to a 63-41 over Scotland in their netball test at Glasgow 7:47

    Rugby:
    Formula One driver Liam Lawson has a prime opportunity in the Brazilian Grand Prix, which is underway from Sao Paulo 7:37

    Motorsports:
    Formula One leader Lando Norris remains in front through 57 of 71 laps of the Brazilian Grand Prix 7:27

    Politics:
    Americans face food cuts and flight delays in record US government shutdown 7:07

    Accident and Emergency:
    State Highway 2 in Upper Hutt has re-opened after a two serious crashes 5:47

    Health & Safety:
    A measles case has popped up in Nelson, with currently no known links to previous cases 4:57

    Politics:
    Former Children's Commissioner and five-term National MP Roger McClay has died aged 80 4:37

    Environment:
    Firefighters battle out-of-control blaze in New Zealand national park 21:07


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd