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6 Nov 2025 20:18
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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

    Business:
    A fire-suppression system seems to be the culprit for knocking-out power for more than 23-thousand households and businesses in the Far North 20:17

    Entertainment:
    Bob Geldof feels "done" with Band Aid 20:07

    Entertainment:
    Pete Davidson won't get rid of his tattoo tributes to his parents 19:37

    Entertainment:
    Drew Barrymore "did not recognise the person [she] saw in the mirror" following "a round of hormone therapy" 19:07

    Entertainment:
    Atomic Kitten's fame almost broke Natasha Hamilton 18:37

    Law and Order:
    Five people have been arrested following a gang tangi in Rotorua today 18:37

    Entertainment:
    Robert Pattinson enjoyed eating food from Jennifer Lawrence's bin 18:07

    Law and Order:
    A Rotorua man found with imported objectionable material described as New Zealand's most serious case - has lost his bid to keep his name secret 18:07

    Law and Order:
    Condemnation for Jevon McSkimming - after he's pleaded guilty to having child exploitation and bestiality images on work devices 17:57

    Cricket:
    Black Caps white ball captain Mitch Santner is keen to spread the bowling load in the T20 series against the West Indies 17:47


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