Reese Witherspoon candidly opened up about her sex scene in the film Fear, sharing that it still went ahead despite her saying no.
The actress told Harper’s Bazaar that she requested a stunt double for the 1996 psychological thriller featuring Mark Wahlberg, adding that it "wasn’t a particularly great experience."
"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," Witherspoon, who was 19 at the time, told the publication.
"I didn’t have control over it," she added. "I’m certainly not traumatised or anything by it, but it was formative."
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Witherspoon went on to say it was the inspiration behind launching her film production company, Hello Sunshine. The aim is to open up perspective and empower women "by giving them authorship, inspiring agency, and creating a platform to help them shape culture."
"It made me understand where my place was in the pecking order of filmmaking," she explained. "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."
Earlier this year, the star and ex-husband Jim Toth announced they were parting ways after 12 years together. The pair released a joint statement.
Witherspoon felt like this was the right move as it felt "much more authentic" to share it in her own words and "not let somebody else control what’s happening."
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