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23 Oct 2025 1:50
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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

    Accident and Emergency:
    Police say there are serious injuries after a two-vehicle crash has blocked State Highway One in both directions near Tokoroa in Bay of Plenty 21:57

    Politics:
    Union delegates have given rousing testimonies to their fellow members on the eve of tomorrow's mega-strike 21:37

    Entertainment:
    Katy Perry has liked an Instagram post poking fun at her romance with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 21:30

    Environment:
    Damaging gales and heavy rain are expected to lash the lower North Island and most of the South Island tomorrow 21:17

    Entertainment:
    Jimmy Fallon is heartbroken after the death of his family dog 21:00

    Entertainment:
    Ben Stiller insists comedy is about having the freedom to speak "truth to power" 20:30

    Entertainment:
    Antonio Banderas says seeing his daughter dressed as a bride was one of the "most beautiful moments" of his life 20:00

    International:
    The 'peppercorn' lease deal that allows Prince Andrew to live in the Royal Lodge virtually rent free 19:57

    Entertainment:
    Sean 'Diddy' Combs is set to appeal his conviction and prison sentence 19:30

    Entertainment:
    Lea Michele landed her first Broadway role because her friend's dad suffered a heart attack 19:00


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