Reese Witherspoon had panic attacks weeks before shooting ‘Wild’ movie: ‘I had hypnosis’
Starring in the drama “Wild” came with off-screen challenges for Reese Witherspoon.
The actress opened up about the toll the 2014 movie took during a conversation with Tracee Ellis Ross for Interview Magazine.
“I was so scared to do that, Tracee,” Witherspoon said in the interview published Tuesday. “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.”
“Wild” is based on a 2012 memoir by Cheryl Strayed, whom Witherspoon portrays in the film.
The movie centers on a long, rigorous hike along the Pacific Crest Trail — as well as a deeply personal emotional journey — that Strayed went on.
“There were probably 25 days of the shoot where I had no other actor opposite me,” Witherspoon told Ross. “It was just me and a camera and a backpack.”
Witherspoon received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in 2015 for her performance in “Wild.” Laura Dern, meanwhile, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress that year for her portrayal of Strayed’s mother in the film.
