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14 Jan 2026 21:25
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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:
    Kit Harington was "angered" by the petition to remake the final season of Game of Thrones 21:23

    Business:
    EB Games New Zealand will be closing-up shop at the end of this month, after 25 years 21:17

    Entertainment:
    Noah Wyle has an enduring friendship with George Clooney 20:53

    Entertainment:
    Paris Hilton is "so proud" of her Infinite Icon documentary 20:23

    Law and Order:
    The body of a man killed at a shooting in Waitarere Beach will be removed from the scene tomorrow ahead of a post-mortem 20:17

    National:
    Why the world’s central bankers had to speak up against Trump’s attacks on the Fed 20:07

    Living & Travel:
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    Entertainment:
    Camila Morrone was "in awe" of Al Pacino as a child 19:53

    Entertainment:
    Blake Shelton has rubbished speculation that he and his wife Gwen Stefani could be getting divorced 19:23

    Cricket:
    Kristian Clarke's soaking in a sensory overload on his first tour away with the Black Caps 18:57


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