Reese Witherspoon underwent hypnosis to treat panic attacks she had over her role in Wild
The role may have earned her an Oscar nod, but playing Cheryl Strayed in Wild was anything but easy, and had a lasting impact on Reese Witherspoon.
The star opened up to fellow actor Tracee Ellis Ross about her experience making the 2014 film in a conversation for Interview magazine posted Tuesday. When asked by Ross about which of her roles changed her the most, Witherspoon said, "Wild." Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, the film is based on Strayed's memoir of the same name, which follows her journey of self-discovery, acceptance, and healing on a solo hike of the Pacific Crest Trail.
"I was so scared to do that, Tracee. I had hypnosis; I was so scared. I was having panic attacks for three weeks before I started," Witherspoon said.
"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," Witherspoon explained. "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?'"
Still, Witherspoon persevered, in part because Strayed's memoir meant so much to her personally. "Cheryl Strayed's book was so beautiful and sacred to me because it spoke to me so deeply about how we as women have to save ourselves," the Morning Show star said. "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."
She continued, "I don't know if I'll ever work that hard again, but it changed me on a cellular level."
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