Reese Witherspoon wants to revamp her image.

The 'Wild' actress says she signed up to play a heroin addict in the film because she was ready to be liberated from her ''tiny little box'' after starring in a string of romantic comedies.

She said: ''People are like, 'We don't want Reese to say profanity. We don't want her to have sex. We don't want her to take drugs.''

The blonde beauty, who fell in love with her character in the movie for ''telling the truth'', shocked her fans when she was arrested for disorderly conduct in April 2013 after having ''one too many drinks'' and she tried to defend her husband Jim Toth after he was arrested and charged with DUI (Driving Under the Influence).

She added to Us Weekly magazine: ''It was a moment when people realised that I wasn't exactly what they thought I was.''

The 38-year-old star is now looking forward to taking on a number of other meaty projects, including an adaptation of the murderous-mums novel 'Big Little Lies' alongside Nicole Kidman.

She said: ''For a couple of years ... I think I was a little lost. It's nice to feel back on track.''