Reese Witherspoon Explains Why She Makes ‘Light and Optimistic’ Movies: ‘Doesn’t Put You in the Cool Kid Club’

Reese Witherspoon knows what her fans want.

As Witherspoon, 47, spoke during a panel discussion at the inaugural Hello Sunshine Shine Away event in Los Angeles on Saturday, the actor and producer said she had always been “obsessed with comedy and keeping things light and upbeat” when asked how she he prefers to tell stories in his work.

“I’ve come to this realization, and I’m sure you’ll find this shocking: I’m not meant to do dark, heavy, intense, heavy horror movies, gory, dark movies,” Witherspoon told attendees at the event. “People like to see me do light films. And I said, okay. And it’s not always like that — it doesn’t often put you in the cool kids’ club. I don’t care.”

“I don’t want to be in the cool kids club. I really don’t,” she added. “I want to make upbeat things that will make girls excited to be women in this world because it’s a wonderful thing to be a woman in this world.”

Witherspoon is no stranger to darker and serious acting roles (Elections, Wild), but she is best known for her comedic roles in films such as Legal blonde and her latest film, a Netflix rom-com Your place or mine with Ashton Kutcher.

Reese Witherspoon Remembers Grandma in Sweet Throwback Photos: ‘A Big Part of My Childhood’

Reese Witherspoon October 21, 2023

Presley Ann/Getty

Witherspoon even kept a light-hearted tone in her recent writing with her Busy Betty children’s books, and she published the last one on October 3.

Hello Sunshine’s experiential fan event on Saturday featured a variety of panel discussions and interactive activities with various authors, athletes and Witherspoon’s friends like Jennifer Garner and Mindy Kaling.

Kaling, 44, agreed with Witherspoon’s assessment of the “lightweight” material, though she noted that she primarily tries to “have fun” when working on a film or television project.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“When people talk about romantic movies or movies with girls in these things that are considered light, it’s because they’re starring women,” she said. “And so we’ve always been subordinated and repressed towards that. When I make shows, I want to entertain. That’s my primary goal.”

“I think a lot of people come into this space, they look at me and I’m so ‘second’ in so many categories, but my job as an entertainer comes first,” Kaling added.

All about Reese Witherspoon’s lookalike daughter, Ava Phillippe

Jennifer Garner, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling and Fortune Feimster attend Hello Sunshine’s Shine Away, Connected by AT&T at Rolling Greens on October 21, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Monica Schipper/Getty

Elsewhere during the panel, Garner, 51, spoke of her strong friendship with Witherspoon when she recalled how Witherspoon helped her when she was “going through a very public, very difficult time in my life” during her pregnancy. Garner did not specify. difficult time in her life she thought about, but she went on to share her and Witherspoon’s experiences of working out together that made her difficult times easier.

“[Reese] she was there and the way I was supposed to get through it was dance cardio,” Garner said. “And I danced cardio so hard, we broke her foot, but she kept going! It was like, well, we practiced at seven on vacation, we’ll practice again at two. She said, ‘I’ll be there. I will be there.’ ”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education