Reese Witherspoon on being ‘totally overwhelmed’ by life, work: ‘I’ll lay on the floor and cry’
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Reese Witherspoon has made the transition from actress to production executive in what appears to be a seamless leap.
The Oscar-winning performer and producer, who parlayed her breakout role in the 2001 cult classic “Legally Blonde” into a storied Hollywood career, opened up about how having her hands in a slew of projects as an actress or in a creative capacity has “totally overwhelmed” her to a degree.
"I'll lay on the floor and cry or I'll sit in my car and cry," Witherspoon told “CBS This Morning” on Sunday. "Sometimes I'm totally overwhelmed."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}REESE WITHERSPOON REVEALS SHE ALMOST LOST 'LEGALLY BLONDE' ROLE: 'THEY THOUGHT I WAS A SHREW'
The 44-year-old, through her studio arm Hello Sunshine, has quickly grown into a powerhouse behind the camera thanks to her network and streaming programs “Big Little Lies” and “Little Fires Everywhere,” the latter of which stars acting and producing peer Kerry Washington, who also serves as an executive on the Hulu original series.
"I really want to change things," Witherspoon maintained about the everyday challenges of being so involved. "I see younger women in our industry and I want them to have a better experience ... I want to see that they have a beautiful idea of what the future could hold."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I will put in the hours and I bet on myself,” she continued. “I'm my own lottery ticket. I always think that, you know. If no one else shows up, I know I will show up and I know I will do the work."
In January, the “Hot Pursuit” star told reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour ahead of the premiere of “Little Fires Everywhere” that she and Washington, 43, were steadfast on remaining in their executive roles even while still churning out brilliant performances in front of the camera.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Michelle Gellar in a scene from the film 'Cruel Intentions', 1999. (Columbia Pictures/Getty Images)
“Choices used to be made for me a lot,” Witherspoon told a room of journalists at the time. “I made a conscious decision about eight years ago to start my own company because I wasn't happy with the choices that were being made for me, and I didn't see a place to exist within the industry that we had.
“There just wasn't a spectrum of storytelling for women that I felt like was representative of the world that we walk through and that our daughters are seeing on film and television. And I think the emergence of streaming – the confluence of deciding to start a company, I guess I was psychic or something," she explained.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Meanwhile, amid the coronavirus quarantine, Witherspoon told Miley Cyrus on her “Bright Minded” Instagram Live series in March that she and her family have been trying to “be patient” with each other while holed up.
“I try to be patient and they try to be patient with me, but we’re only on day 11,” Witherspoon said of her time at home with her husband, Jim Toth, and the couple's 7-year-old son, Tennessee, as well as her kids – Ava, 20, who recently came home from college, and Deacon, 16 – with ex Ryan Phillippe.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I don’t know what’s gonna happen," she added.
Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington speak onstage during the Hulu Panel at Winter TCA 2020 at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on January 17, 2020, in Pasadena, Calif. (Erik Voake/Getty Images for Hulu)
Witherspoon noted that she and her family members have set house rules in order to cope with five different people all trying to work in the same home.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I think it’s really important to designate space," Witherspoon said. "My husband and I are both working from home and all three kids are doing school online.
"So everybody has a room that has a little area and there’s a privacy sign there, so when the privacy sign is on and your headphones are on, you can’t interrupt," she continued. "You have to have rules. ... It’s really important to post them on the wall for your family, just so we respect each other’s space.”
Fox News’ Nate Day contributed to this report.