Reese Witherspoon recently sat down with Harper’s Bazaar for their August 2023 cover issue and opened up about her uncomfortable experience shooting intimate scenes with Mark Wahlberg for the 1996 film, Fear.
At the time when filming the 1996 psychological thriller, Witherspoon was only 19 and Wahlberg was 23. The Oscar winner, now 48, reflected on the discomfort she felt and how it ultimately inspired her to tell “stories from the female gaze” as a producer years later.
In one memorable Fear scene, Witherspoon’s character, Nicole, is sexually stimulated by Wahlberg’s character, David on a theme park ride. “I didn’t have control over [the scene],” Witherspoon revealed in her latest interview.
Reese Witherspoon Reflects On Discomfort While Shooting Intimate Fear Scenes
Witherspoon also told the outlet that she requested a stunt double for the below-the-waist scenes while filming the teen flick. "It wasn’t explicit in the script that that’s what was going to happen, so that was something that I think the director thought of on his own and then asked me on set if I would do it, and I said no," the Big Little Lies alum said. She added: "It wasn’t a particularly great experience."
"I’m certainly not traumatized or anything by it, but it was formative," the Draper James founder said when looking back. The Legally Blonde star continued: "It made me understand where my place was in the pecking order of filmmaking."
The mom of three continued: "I think it’s another one of those stories that made me want to be an agent for change and someone who maybe can be in a better leadership position to tell stories from a female perspective instead of from the male gaze."
While starring in countless blockbusters and hit television shows over the past two decades, Witherspoon also notably founded production company Pacific Standard (now part of Hello Sunshine) in 2012.
Since then, the actress and author has produced many projects with "strong" female lead characters, and as she revealed in her most recent interview, she isn't stopping anytime soon!
