News | Entertainment
22 Nov 2025 17:04
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
     22 Nov: Paris Hilton has claimed she is "self-made"
     22 Nov: Kris Jenner hopes to keep working for several more years
     22 Nov: Adam Sandler is grateful for his "very cool life"
     22 Nov: Catherine, Princess of Wales has urged people to find beauty in "change"
     22 Nov: Ray J is countersuing Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner for breach of contract
     22 Nov: Kaya Scodelario has found "real peace" since turning 30
     22 Nov: Eddie Murphy was angry when he didn't win an Oscar for Dreamgirls
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Wallace Sititi is imploring his side to sign off 20-25 on a high More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Meat exports have reached a record high, despite Donald Trump's recently-scrapped tariffs More...



     Today's News

    Rugby:
    Wallace Sititi is imploring his side to sign off 20-25 on a high 16:56

    Basketball:
    Breakers centre Rob Loe has revealed his ties to basketball ahead of tonight's NBL clash with the Taipans in Cairns 16:56

    Entertainment:
    Paris Hilton has claimed she is "self-made" 16:55

    Rugby:
    Not only is starting a rugby test largely unfamiliar for All Blacks prop Pasilio Tosi, he's feeling a little nervous at the prospect 16:26

    Entertainment:
    Kris Jenner hopes to keep working for several more years 16:25

    Education:
    'Sorry New Zealand, love you': The record number of Kiwis leaving the country 16:06

    Entertainment:
    Adam Sandler is grateful for his "very cool life" 15:55

    Rugby:
    Wallace Sititi concedes he hasn't been as good in test rugby as he was in his breakout season 15:26

    Entertainment:
    Catherine, Princess of Wales has urged people to find beauty in "change" 15:25

    Cricket:
    The West Indies have lost three wickets but are scoring at a respectable rate in today's final one-day dead rubber at Seddon Park in Hamilton 15:06


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd