Reese Witherspoon details how her grueling ‘Wild’ role caused panic attacks

American actor Reese Witherspoon is reflecting on the time she experienced panic attacks owing to her daring role in Wild.

During a chat with Tracee Ellis Ross for Interview, the Legally Blonde star opened up about the 2014-released film based on Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling memoir.

Witherspoon, much like the character she was playing, had little hiking experience and had to set off on a grueling journey for self-discovery of her character in the film.

Speaking about the role, the actor said: "I had hypnosis, I was so scared. I was having panic attacks for three weeks before I started."

She went on to reveal that during the filming process, she would be alone in the camera with no other actors which aggravated her panic attacks.

"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?'" she said.

To authentically portray her character, Witherspoon carried her own 75-pound backpack and went barefaced for the filming. "I don't know if I'll ever work that hard again, but it changed me on a cellular level," she said of the film that earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2015.