Reese Witherspoon Dishes On The Unexpected Reason She Joined ‘Big Little Lies’

Big Little Lies has a big little cast with such prominent names as Nicole Kidman, Zoe Kravitz, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgård, and, of course, Reese Witherspoon featured in the dark comedy. In light of such an impressive cast, it’s little wonder that Big Little Lies is expected to be a huge hit and that might have been the incentive for other actors to sign on for the new HBO saga. For Witherspoon, there was a much different incentive. Reese shares that hidden reason and talks about how it inspired her to produce the story, as well as star in it.

Big Little Lies Gave Reese Witherspoon A Rare Opportunity

Previously, Reese Witherspoon has said that she hasn’t enjoyed being the only woman on set with a given project, or even being one of a select few women, so, as Glamour reports, the actress/producer saw a rare opportunity with Big Little Lies. While there is more diversity and growing opportunities for women in Hollywood, it’s still unusual to find a predominantly female presence, such as is the case with Big Little Lies.

Reese explains that being alone among a group of male actors and filmmakers left her feeling segregated from the rest of the women in her profession, and she often felt lost without other women to talk with on sets. The Big Little Lies actress also says she wants to see more stories relating to the female experience, giving the woman’s perspective on dating, marriage and divorce, rape, and domestic violence, just to name a few life experiences.

Witherspoon says she read the novel from which Big Little Lies is adapted and at once felt a connection to the characters and felt passionate about bringing them to life on the screen.

“It explores so many aspects that are relatable to the lives of women; it wasn’t about them being good or bad — they showed every spectrum and every color of women’s lives,” says Ms. Witherspoon. “It presented a unique opportunity to have so many incredible parts for women in one piece of material.”

Reese Witherspoon Gushes Over Daughter Ava Phillippe

Joining Reese at the Hollywood premiere of Big Little Lies was her 17-year-old daughter, Ava Phillippe, and many mistook the teen for the older Witherspoon, which is something that happens often. Speaking with E! News, Ms. Witherspoon explained that people often think Ava is her mother, which is frustrating for the teen, because she doesn’t even want to be an actress.

Reese adds that Ava is very supportive of her mother and she feels fortunate to have a daughter who will accompany her to premieres and give her moral support.

Ms. Phillippe may not want to follow in her mother’s footsteps, but she does echo some of Witherspoon’s thoughts on women in cinema, proven by a recent Instagram posting.

“It is so nice to see these wonderful, talented women in roles just as dynamic as they are,” Ava captioned a photo in which she’s seen posing with Reese.

Reese recently revealed that filming Big Little Lies gave her an opportunity to connect with other women in the business. During breaks on the set, Witherspoon and the other women on the set would get together and talk about whatever came to mind. She points out that work was never a topic of discussion. Instead, the Big Little Lies women talked about their personal lives, parenting, romance, and whatever else was important to them.

Over time, Witherspoon says it felt more like a family than anything else.

“You get deeply invested in people. I think that’s part of the experience of getting to know people,” said Reese Witherspoon. “What deepens our relationships on set, even more than a rehearsal, is the glass of wine you have after work. ‘What’s on in your life? How’s your mom? How’s your heart?’ That kind of stuff.”

Big Little Lies airs tonight on HBO.

[Featured Image by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]