News | Entertainment
1 Dec 2025 10:42
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
     30 Nov: Millie Bobby Brown had to hide her "wedding hair" while shooting the final season of Stranger Things
     30 Nov: James Van Der Beek's wife says he's "bouncing back" during his cancer battle
     30 Nov: Will Young has credited his dogs with improving his mental health because they are "consistent companions and fiercely loyal"
     30 Nov: Robert Irwin admits dating is "so challenging to navigate" in the public eye
     30 Nov: Sean 'Diddy' Combs' rapper son King Combs believes the disgraced star could be released from prison in time for the holidays
     30 Nov: Macaulay Culkin has reminded fans that his middle name is also Macaulay Culkin
     30 Nov: Former Fox TV chief Dana Walden had to "teach" fans to embrace Glee
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Jimmy Barnes is heading back to New Zealand - to celebrate his landmark album, For the Working Class Man, turning 40 More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    How visible displays of wealth make people support higher taxes – new study More...



     Today's News

    International:
    Lebanese hopeful Pope Leo will bring peace as he visits the country 10:37

    Business:
    How visible displays of wealth make people support higher taxes – new study 10:37

    Politics:
    Powers to move homeless people on from city centres, could be confirmed by Christmas 10:27

    Auckland:
    NZ now has a narrow window to stop the Asian yellow-legged hornet – here’s how everyone can help 10:27

    National:
    Trump wants Australian data on migrant crime. This will only scapegoat vulnerable people 10:17

    Motoring:
    F1 Qatar: McLaren pitstop blunder costs Oscar Piastri win, Max Verstappen closes in on Lando Norris 10:07

    National:
    Frida Kahlo’s record-breaking painting El Sueño positions death as a roommate 10:07

    International:
    F1 standings: Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri set for Abu Dhabi decider after Qatar GP 10:07

    Living & Travel:
    Jimmy Barnes is heading back to New Zealand - to celebrate his landmark album, For the Working Class Man, turning 40 10:07

    Motorsports:
    A blunt assessment from McLaren driver Oscar Piastri after a team tactical error at the Qatar Formula 1 Grand Prix 9:57


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd