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26 Dec 2025 18:09
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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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    Entertainment:
    James Van Der Beek's gaunt appearance during the Dawson's Creek reunion was due to a stomach virus - and not related to his cancer battle 17:50

    Rugby:
    Blues recruit Pita Ahki feels he's wiser and more experienced for his time in the Northern Hemisphere 17:27

    Rugby:
    An unexpected farewell from his French legion of fans was a special moment to Pita Ahki  17:27

    Entertainment:
    Tom Brady would be ready to play if he made a second comeback to the NFL 17:20

    Cricket:
    The local T20 Super Smash has begun in Hamilton, where the Auckland Aces made 201 for eight before rain delayed the Northern Brave's run chase ... and the match was declared a no result 17:07

    Rugby League:
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    Entertainment:
    Kourtney Kardashian hasn't had Botox injections in four years 16:50

    Entertainment:
    Chase Infiniti was named after characters in Batman Forever and Toy Story 16:20

    Cricket:
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