Jennifer Connelly was so affected by her latest role as a mother mourning the death of her child, she started stressing out on set. Connelly tried to avoid thinking about her two sons as she made Reservation Road, but she couldn’t avoid the obvious – her 10-year-old son Kai is the same age as the boy who dies in the film.

She says,

“I tried my hardest to really separate it (filming) from my personal life. I didn’t let myself think about my own family and my own kids. It feels too exploitative… but I was having nightmares and having a hard time sleeping. Then my jaw kept locking up, and I couldn’t eat. I got a week into it and thought, ‘What have I done to myself?’”

As a mother – I have a hard time even watching ER lately.  I can’t watch any TV or movie that deals with a childs death.  I know it’s not real…it’s just tv.  But still – I can’t let my mind go there.  So, with all this said, I can’t imagine what it’s like to try and portray a mother whose lost her child.

Pictures of Jennifer, Joaquin Pheonix and Mira Sorvino at the Reservation Road premiere.