“The fact that we both made it and we get to work together is really beautiful,” she said.

Reese Witherspoon ‘burst into tears’ after reuniting with famous friend of 35 years on set of new series Lucky

“The fact that we both made it and we get to work together is really beautiful,” she said.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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July 15, 2026 4:19 p.m. ET

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Reese Witherspoon in Los Angeles on July 13. Credit:

VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty

- Reese Witherspoon said that she “burst into tears” when she reunited with an actor friend on the set of *Lucky*.

- Witherspoon said that she has known her *Lucky* collaborator since she was 16.

- “The fact that we both made it and we get to work together is really beautiful,” she said.

Reese Witherspoon‘s latest project is a reunion 35 years in the making.

The *Legally Blonde* actress shared her emotional reaction to seeing one of her oldest friends in Hollywood when they finally collaborated on their new show, *Lucky*.

“I’ve known Clifton Collins Jr. since I was 16 years old,” Witherspoon said in an interview with ET. “So when I saw him on set and he was all in character, I burst into tears. We hugged each other for a solid 10 minutes.”

Clifton Collins Jr. in Los Angeles on July 13.

Maya Dehlin/WireImage

Witherspoon never acted alongside Collins, but they moved in the same circles as young actors trying to gain a foothold in the entertainment industry. “We were both auditioning together as young people,” she explained. “And the fact that we both made it and we get to work together is really beautiful.”

Since his breakout performance in *One Eight Seven*, Collins has become one of Hollywood’s most reliable character actors. He was part of the main cast of shows such as *Westworld*, *The Event*, *Ballers*, and *The Last Frontier*, and appeared in episodes of series like *ER*, *Veronica Mars*, *The Blacklist*, and *The Shield*. He also played supporting roles in acclaimed movies including *Once Upon a Time in Hollywood*, *Star Trek*, *Scott Pilgrim vs. the World*, *Traffic*, and *Capote*, as well as recent films like *Train Dreams*, *Eddington*, *After Yang*, and *Red, White, and Royal Blue*.

Mo McRae, William Fichtner, Jonathan Tropper, Lauren Levy Nuestadter, Reese Witherspoon, Anya Taylor-Joy, Drew Starkey, Cassie Pappas, Annette Bening, Clifton Collins Jr., Jonathan van Tulleken, and Artur Zai Barrera in Los Angeles on July 13.

Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV via Getty

*Lucky*, which Witherspoon executive produced and features Collins in a key supporting role, follows Lucky Armstrong, a con artist played by Anya Taylor-Joy.

Witherspoon said that she felt compelled to bring *Lucky* to the screen after reading Marissa Stapley’s “insane” 2021 novel of the same name.

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“I was reading it in my living room freaking out,” Witherspoon said. “I’d never read a female con artist character like that. So I called my producing partner, Lauren [Neustadter] and I was like, ‘We’ve gotta make this.’”

Anya Taylor-Joy in ‘Lucky’.

Witherspoon and Neustadter quickly started brainstorming casting ideas. “We immediately started talking about who could be in it. We were like, ‘Anya!’” she recalled. “Because she’s such a chameleon. Every movie she’s in, every performance, is so different from the one before. And she looks good as a redhead, she looks good as a blonde. She somehow just transforms herself.”

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The *Election* star sang the praises of the *Queen’s Gambit* actress. “You’re just rooting for her,” she said. “She’s such a badass on film, and this character requires incredible stamina, incredible quick, clever decision-making, and she’s just utterly perfect. So we were so excited she decided to join us.”

The first two episodes of *Lucky* are now streaming on Apple TV.

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