How old was Reese Witherspoon in Fear?

Reese Witherspoon fans are viewing a memorable Fear scene in a whole new light, following a recent interview with the actress.

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The 47-year-old Witherspoon was chatting with Harper’s Bazaar for its July 12 cover story when she revealed that she tried to avoid an early-career sex scene. According to the interview, the young Witherspoon was uncomfortable with the sensual scene she shares with co-star Mark Wahlberg in 1996’s Fear.

She even told director James Foley “no” when he asked her to participate — even going so far as to suggest a stunt double — but was ultimately overruled. Witherspoon ended up caving and participating in the sex scene, but she calls the moment “formative,” and notes that “it made me understand where my place was in the pecking order of filmmaking.”

The revelation of Witherspoon’s discomfiture while filming the scene is prompting a reexamination of Fear, as fans look on the flick with fresh eyes. They’re feeling uncomfortable right along with Witherspoon, in retrospect, as they digest just how young the actress was during filming.

Reese Witherspoon’s age in Fear, explained

When filming for Fear was taking place, Witherspoon was technically still in her teenage years. She was only 19 when the now-infamous sex scene was filmed — alongside Wahlberg, then 25 — but that didn’t stop Foley from stomping all over her comfort levels. He insisted that she participate in the scene herself, and it helped shape Witherspoon into the woman she is today.

That scene, and the lack of control Witherspoon felt, prompted the actress to create her production company, Hello Sunshine. The company aims to “tell stories from a female perspective instead of from the male gaze,” and provide a more welcoming space for incoming stars — in particular, women. It also aims to tell a different sort of story, and from different perspectives than the bulk of Hollywood offerings. As noted by Witherspoon, “It’s not just the art that’s being made, it’s how it’s being made. A man telling a story about the suffragette movement is a different thing than a woman telling it whose grandmother told her the story while she was sitting on her lap.”

So, as it turns out, that loss of control with Fear made something good after all. Without that long-ago scene, and Foley’s refusal to shift his vision to accommodate Witherspoon’s boundaries, Hello Sunshine may never have come to be.

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