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11 Jan 2026 4:35
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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

    Accident and Emergency:
    Six people have been involved in separate water-related incidents across the country this afternoon 23:06

    Environment:
    MetService has issued a severe weather warning for the South Island West Coast 21:56

    Entertainment:
    Jeremy Allen White and Pusha T both feature in Louis Vuitton's new travel-themed campaign 21:53

    Entertainment:
    Nell Fisher says her friends "don't care" that she stars in Stranger Things 21:23

    Environment:
    An expected rain deluge and a possible tropical cyclone are posing fresh threats to already hard-hit communities in Queensland's far north 21:16

    Entertainment:
    Bodybuilder-turned-actress Jayne Trcka has been found dead at her home in California 20:53

    Entertainment:
    Kendall Jenner is celebrating "confidence" in her new role as a global fragrance ambassador for Emporio Armani 20:23

    Entertainment:
    A member of Mickey Rourke's own management team set up GoFundMe campaign for him "as a nice gesture" as he faced eviction from his home 19:53

    Entertainment:
    Kate Hudson doesn't regret making "sacrifices" for her family by staying at home to look after her kids 19:23

    Christchurch:
    Drummond Wharf in Akaroa is cordoned off after a drowning 18:56


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