News | Entertainment
9 Nov 2025 19:02
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: Seth Meyers has hit back at Donald Trump after the U.S. president attacked him on social media
     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"
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    In spite of a second half collapse at Murrayfield, the All Blacks will head for London tomorrow with their grand slam hopes alive More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Kiwis finances are giving them a headache - much more than during the pandemic More...



     Today's News

    Living & Travel:
    A Tauranga soprano now based in Hamilton has won first prize in this years New Zealand Aria Competition held in Rotorua this weekend 18:57

    Environment:
    Severe storms are moving through Kaipara, Whangarei and the Far North during the next hour 18:37

    Motoring:
    Feelings of failure and being unseen. What it's like to be a stepmum 18:17

    Cricket:
    The Black Caps have once again held their nerve to win the third T20 international over the West Indies by nine runs in Nelson 18:07

    Rugby League:
    The Kiwi Ferns have been trounced 40-8 by the Australian Jillaroos in the women's Pacific Championships final in Sydney 17:27

    Rugby League:
    Esteemed Kiwis playmaker Kieran Foran believes the Pacific Championships could become league's pinnacle event 17:27

    Rugby League:
    Kiwis halfback Kieran Foran expects a sold-out CommBank Stadium in Parramatta to be blown away by the forward battle in today's Pacific Championship decider 16:57

    Health & Safety:
    A new measles case has been confirmed in Nelson, with currently no known links to previous cases 16:17

    International:
    The telltale signs the Louvre heist was not a 'professional' job 16:07

    Rugby League:
    On-field general Kieran Foran would be thrilled to be back in the Kiwis fold as a coach in the future 15:27


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd