Actors sometimes lean on past experiences when portraying characters onscreen.

However, Reese Witherspoon simply couldn't for her role as a former drug addict in her new flick, "Wild". The new film is based on Cheryl Strayed's novel, "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" which chronicled a woman's pain and eventual redemption.

Like Us on Facebook

Witherspoon admitted that she's never done drugs in her life, and that she was totally out her own element.

"I was really confused. I didn't know what I was doing," she shared with Harper's Bazaar UK.

Despite not knowing what to do, the actress shared that she felt that the role was simply something she couldn't pass on. The role required feeling very raw emotions that just "didn't feel good," and Witherspoon was up for the task despite feeling unnerved by it.

Aside from the drug use, Witherspoon also had to deal with sex scenes that were very difficult for the actress to shoot.

According to the star, "[The sex scenes were], like, three percent of the movie, but it took up a tremendous amount of fear in my mind because it's daunting. Sometimes I was just terrified. Like a cat on a raft...'You can't make me do it.'"

She shared that role diversity is simply hard to come by for an actress like her who is usually tapped to play nice and sweet characters. Even though the new role is very different from the usual ones she plays, Witherspoon said that she loved the fact that the character was complex.

Although Witherspoon finds dramatic roles challenging, she admitted that they are "emotionally gutting", and taking on a role that requires a certain heaviness can be exhausting.

"It's why I enjoy doing comedies. It's much easier, thinking of what rhymes with truck," she admitted.

"Wild" opens in theaters this Friday.   

TagsWild, Reese Witherspoon