Reese Witherspoon: The Truth About ‘The Good Lie’

John Scura

The first time Reese Witherspoon read Margaret Nagle’s script for the Warner Bros. film The Good Lie, she wept through nearly every page. Based on a true story, it follows the experiences of a brash American woman as she sponsors four Sudanese refugees who have won a lottery allowing them to live in the United States. “I thought it was so beautiful about family and what does it mean to be a stranger in a strange land,” says Witherspoon. “We are so blessed. We have our freedoms, our opportunities, our education, and those are some things that people all over the world don’t have.”

Immediately accepting the offer to play Carrie Davis, the actress was cast opposite Sudanese actors who had direct experience with the terrible Sudanese civil war. “When they first told me they wanted to hire real refugees for the parts, I was a little nervous,” Witherspoon recalls. “I didn’t know what that was going to be like. But they were teaching me things that I didn’t understand and know.” Two of her Sudanese co-stars, Ger Duany and Emmanuel Jal, were children during the war conflict and they revealed their ordeals to Witherspoon while on set. Duany was only seven when his village came under attack, and he was forced to become a child soldier and live in refugee camps. He survived by fleeing on foot to Ethiopia. Jal, who lost his entire family in the war, also joined the exodus to Ethiopia with no food along the way. He told Witherspoon that many children had died from dehydration and drowning, and that some were killed by hippos and crocodiles when crossing rivers.

The interplay between Witherspoon and her co-stars wasn’t all grim. They referred to her using a Sudanese epithet that translates into “great white cow.” Witherspoon took the term in stride after being assured that it’s considered high praise in Sudanese culture. An added bonus for the actress was the opportunity to travel to Africa and film in the actual refugee camp that once was home to her fellow actors. “It was a great educational opportunity for me,” she claims.

Filming The Good Lie also enabled Witherspoon to form new friends, and she maintains that friendship is one of the most important facets in her life at this time. “I don’t know what I would have done so many times in my life if I hadn’t had my girlfriends,” she told Red Magazine. “They have literally gotten me up out of bed, taken my clothes off, put me in the shower, dressed me and said, ‘Hey, you can do this.’ Then they put my high heels on and pushed me out the door.” Witherspoon’s friends have been vitally helpful in another respect, as she, like so many other young stars, has had to learn how to keep her career moving forward while also being a mom. In her case, motherhood means caring for three children, ranging from a teen to a toddler. “Ever since I had the baby [Tennessee] I can’t remember anything,” Witherspoon told E! Online. “Serious, this child stole my brain. I’m losing friendships over forgetting to get back to people. But you can’t keep up with everything. It’s like CNN ticker tape running through my mind at all times. ‘Where is Ava? She’s OK. Good. Where is Deacon? He’s OK. Good. Where is Tennessee? Is he OK? Yes. Great. Back to Ava.’”

The actress is obviously doing something right, as she’s handling motherhood while adding sparkling credits to an already impressive career. She even admits to finally taking pride in her film accomplishments, and believes she should help women do the same. “As women,” she says, “we shrug and smile and say, ‘Oh, me?’ because it makes it socially acceptable for us to be successful. But there is a balance between being an arrogant jerk and being someone who is proud of their accomplishments. We need to let successful women show off and support them, because men don’t spend any time putting themselves down. They don’t waste their breath. You have to be the best version of yourself, and if that means you have to be a bit self-promoting, then it’s OK. It really is, because who’s going to believe in you more than yourself?”

Confidence was something Witherspoon never lacked. When she was a child, her parents referred to her as “a little Type A,” and she now freely admits to being “a big dork who reads loads of books.” She became enamored of being before the camera at age 7 while modeling in commercials for a local florist. Acting lessons immediately followed, leading to her breakthrough role in the film The Man in the Moon at age of 14.

Witherspoon has since performed in dozens of films and won an Academy Award, Golden Globe and a handful of other awards for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in the film Walk the Line. Despite the fame and accolades, the actress remains grounded, which is a trait she credits to her southern upbringing. “Maybe that’s the attitude I choose to have to keep me sane and keep my feet on the ground,” she says. This attitude has no doubt led to the tears she shed before taking her role in The Good Lie.

The Good Lie opens in theaters on October 3.