Amanda Seyfried: Mean Girl No More – Portrait Magazine, September 2009 Issue
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Amanda Seyfried: Mean Girl No More Amanda Seyfried may not have the most recognizable name but she is very well known. From roles as a minion of Rachel McAdams in “Mean Girls” to Lilly Kane in “Veronica Mars” and Sophie in “Mamma Mia”, Amanda Seyfried has a hot career.
Amanda was born on December 3rd, 1985 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She began working as a model at 11 years old and at 15 won the role of Lucy Montgomery on “As the World Turns” before playing Joni Stafford on “All My Children”. Other small roles have included “Law & Order: SVU”, “American Gun”, Detox-“House”, “Justice”, ABC Family’s “Wildfire” and “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves”. Her role on “Veronica Mars” as Lilly Kane was a pivotal role to the show. While not having nearly the camera time, Amanda portrayed Lilly in a way that clearly helped define the show. (Lilly Kane was the best friend of lead character Veronica [played by Kristen Bell] who was murdered before the season started. The season revolved around Veronica and her father working at solving the murder of Lilly Kane). As far as attention in teen gossip goes, it was a break through role for Amanda Seyfried.
But it was her role as the stupidest member of the Plastics, the clique in “Mean Girls”, as Karen Smith that propelled her acting career. Amanda was the original choice for both Regina George, lead mean girl and Cady Heron, main role. It seemed she was destined for Karen, though. She played the role perfectly. I personally didn’t see a brain in Karen at all! Her role was clearly both a key role and played well as the “Mean Girls” clique won Best On-Screen Team for “Mean Girls” at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards.
From there Amanda won small roles on shows like House, Law & Order, and CSI as well as the role of Lilly Kane on “Veronica Mars”. While only seen in flashbacks, Lilly was a primary role on the show’s first season. She continues her television career with the role of Sarah Henrickson on “Big Love”, a story of a Mormon and his numerous wives. Sarah is the oldest daughter of the father, played by Bill Paxton. Amanda stated in one interview that while she appreciates the show’s ability to provide an insightful look into polygamy, it has made her more certain that she couldn’t live a life like that. “I don’t think I could share, no. I don’t think I would trust. I want to be the most important thing in my husband’s life. It’s just weird. It’s not natural. He obviously loves all these women, but does he love them all equally? How can he? It just doesn’t seem honest. They found a way to justify it, and it is justified in many ways. And there’s more camaraderie, more love and more support. But there can also be more problems and more tension.”
Amanda’s film career has been very successful as well. Not only did she breakthrough with the role of Karen Smith but Amanda has since appeared in “Nine Lives” with Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, and Sissy Spacek, “American Gun” with Donald Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, and Marcia Gay Harden, and “Mamma Mia” as Sophie with Meryl Streep. Quite the costars. She also played opposite Justin Timberlake in “Alpha Dogs” as Julie Beckley, a movie that was well reviewed by critics. Unfortunately the movie was released while the criminal case it told the story of was still in progress. The movie ended up hampering the investigation and was pulled from markets early.
Her latest film, “Jennifer’s Body” opens this month. It’s a horror/comedy written by Diablo Cody (Juno). Amanda’s best friend Jennifer has become possessed by a demon and gone from “high school evil” to “evil/evil”. Jennifer (played by Megan Fox) is preying on the boys in high school and it is up to Amanda’s character Neely to stop Jennifer. While I’m not a fan of horror, this actually looks fairly intelligent. The latest interest in the film comes from the release that Amanda and Megan Fox kiss in the film. Knowing all the teenage boys that love Megan Fox, I have no doubt that this liplock will bring in more fans. Either way, Amanda is an excellent actress and should be able to help elevate the film beyond stereotypical horror.
Other upcoming films include “Chloe” as the title role of Chloe to be released later this year. The movie is a thriller costarring Liam Neeson. She plays the voice of Mazie in “Marmaduke” in 2010, also “Letters to Juliet” with Gael Garcia Bernal a story about a young American in Italy who finds an unanswered “letter to Juliet” and goes on a quest to find the lovers in the letter. This will no doubt be an excellent romance as Gael Garcia Bernal is also a phenomenal actor. Her other movie is “Dear John” the latest movie off a Nicholas Sparks novel, costarring Channing Tatum. These new roles will tell if Amanda will be a leading actress or the permanent best friend. Judging by her talent so far, its only a matter of time.
These days most young actresses are known more for their actions off camera than their roles on camera. Amanda Seyfried is unique. Scouring the internet won’t turn up much gossip. A few reviews, maybe a mention of a fashion award, but the majority of information about Amanda revolves around her career. The most you’ll find is a comment she once made that no one really got along with Lindsay Lohan on the set of “Mean Girls”. But then, nearly every girl that’s acted with Lindsay has said that. The greater sign of Amanda’s maturity is in her movies and her costars. You don’t act opposite Academy Award winning actors without being the consummate professional. It’s a rare woman who can be so professional at a young age. Judging by the talent Amanda has shown in her various roles, she has always been that rare woman. Fun Trivia
Personal Quotes
“I love low-rise, boot-cut, perfect fitting jeans… I collect jeans. I don’t care how expensive they are… I have jeans with holes in them and I have nice jeans. I have casual and I have dressy jeans. I’ve got all kinds.”
(on plans for the future) “If I came out with a club hit, if I were singing duets with Jesse McCartney, I think people would get the wrong idea. I’m not interested in fashion design. I’m an actress, and that’s all I want to focus on. For me, that’s just more fulfilling.”
“I just love to act and be on the set. I want to make acting my life and get really good roles.”
“I’m not really into clubbing, I like to go to parties after events, and those do end up at clubs or bars. But in my free time I go grocery shopping or to the gym, or I talk on the phone.”
“At 11, I had a crush on Leonardo DiCaprio. Actually, it was not a crush. It was an obsession! I was also obsessed with Richard Dean Anderson from MacGyver and Indiana Jones.”
“It’s really easy to avoid the tabloids. You just live your life and don’t hang out with famous people who are in the tabloids. Don’t do anything controversial and be a normal person. Have friends. And get a job and keep working.”
“People do judge you, and there are stupid rivalries. You have to wear the right things, because there are all these girls my age competing for the same roles. They’re judging me and I’m judging them. I try not to be that way, but sometimes I am. |
