News | Entertainment
8 Nov 2025 8:34
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
     08 Nov: Macaulay Culkin has stepped back into his Kevin McCallister role for a new Christmas advertising campaign with a message about family and ageing
     08 Nov: Patti Smith has revealed how she discovered the man who raised her was not her biological father
     08 Nov: Sean 'Diddy' Combs has been photographed spending time with former NBA player Sebastian Telfair inside FCI Fort Dix
     08 Nov: Sir David Beckham paid tribute to his wife Victoria Beckham with his knighthood ceremony outfit
     08 Nov: Tori Spelling has formally concluded her marriage to Dean McDermott
     07 Nov: Guillermo del Toro says his long-awaited adaptation of Frankenstein feels deeply "autobiographical"
     07 Nov: Kim Kardashian has no idea what a jacket potato is
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Former Scottish international Brendan Laney is giving his old nation every chance of tipping over the All Blacks in tomorrow morning's second Grand Slam test at Murrayfield More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Labour Weekend - and weather - played a big role in consumer spending in October More...



     Today's News

    Politics:
    Auckland's mayor says he welcomes any law change to forcibly move homeless people out of the city centre 8:27

    Environment:
    People are reported to be at the scene of a house fire this morning in Hamilton East 8:27

    Soccer:
    The Central Coast Mariners have joined Auckland FC at the top of the A-League table with a 1-nil win over the Perth Glory 8:17

    Entertainment:
    Macaulay Culkin has stepped back into his Kevin McCallister role for a new Christmas advertising campaign with a message about family and ageing 8:07

    Law and Order:
    More than 50 people have been injured in explosions at a mosque in Indonesia's capital 8:07

    Rugby:
    Former Scottish international Brendan Laney is giving his old nation every chance of tipping over the All Blacks in tomorrow morning's second Grand Slam test at Murrayfield 7:57

    Entertainment:
    Patti Smith has revealed how she discovered the man who raised her was not her biological father 7:37

    Living & Travel:
    Several regional flights into Auckland have been cancelled because of fog issues 7:37

    Rugby:
    Ardie Savea has no doubts a new-look All Blacks loose forward trio will click quickly in tomorrow morning's test against Scotland 7:27

    Entertainment:
    Sean 'Diddy' Combs has been photographed spending time with former NBA player Sebastian Telfair inside FCI Fort Dix 7:07


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd