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18 Oct 2025 1:43
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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

    Rugby:
    It's down to the final four in rugby's NPC, as the weekend's action kicks off shortly under the roof in Dunedin 21:57

    Entertainment:
    Gwyneth Paltrow's group chats were "on fire" after she was pictured kissing Timothee Chalamet 21:47

    Politics:
    Former Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama, famous for WWII apology, dies aged 101 21:27

    Entertainment:
    Kim Kardashian has been working on her "perfect" wedding gown for a potential fourth marriage 21:17

    Politics:
    Kaipara's new mayor has been named, following accusations of an unfair voting process 21:17

    Entertainment:
    Kevin Federline has claimed Britney Spears cheated on him with a female dancer 20:47

    Entertainment:
    Barbara Palvin will walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show with a broken foot 20:17

    Entertainment:
    Mark Ruffalo saved Woody Harrelson from a bar fight 19:47

    Entertainment:
    Katy Perry says becoming a mother is "the best decision" she has ever made in her life 19:17

    Cricket:
    Opening batter Devon Conway has been dropped from the Black Caps' playing XI for tomorrow night's first T20 against England in Christchurch 18:57


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