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Amanda Seyfried opens up about Justin Timberlake, jamming with her
co-star, and being seen as a Hollywood 'teen queen' |
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HBO
Tell us a little about Sarah, your character. What is she up against?
SEYFRIED
She's very smart. She sees through people. She's also very introverted, and she feels a lot. There's a lot going on in her head, but she doesn't always know how to express it. She can't get a moment with her father. It's weird having all these other women in her life. One of them, Margene, is like a kid herself.
HBO
Can you identify with the character at all?
SEYFRIED
It's hard for her to express herself, and that's not too much of a stretch. She doesn't agree with the way things are in her life, but she doesn't have much control. And she doesn't know what she wants. On top of that, there's no one to talk to about it. Her brother is thinking he wants to be a polygamist like his father. Her little sister is too young. She feels really alone. The wives aren't forced into the situation; my character is the only one that's forced into something she doesn't want to be in.
HBO
Did you have any thoughts about polygamy before auditioning for the show?
SEYFRIED
I knew nothing about it, but we read up on it. In some ways I find it justifiable. I can understand their situation, how it came to be. Once you get through a couple episodes you can understand it more.
HBO
Do you think you could ever be a 'sister-wife' in a polygamous marriage?
SEYFRIED
No. Definitely not. 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.
HBO
What's life like on the set?
SEYFRIED
Doug (Smith) and I brought our guitars to the set and played in our trailers. He's a great lyricist and a poet — he takes writing classes. And he's written so many songs. He got me into a lot of music — he was immersed in piano and guitar.
HBO
You're also a trained singer?
SEYFRIED
Yeah, I've been doing it longer than acting. I was always into singing. I trained with a Broadway voice coach for nearly five years, and spent two years training for classical opera. It actually started when I sang in a school play.
HBO
Have you ever been able to use it professionally?
SEYFRIED
I've auditioned for roles that involved voice, but I don't like it. I feel like, I can't do this in front of you. It seems so separate — I don't share it with a lot of people. And I'm not into public performances. I'd have to be with a band that played really loud music behind me. I'm also 20 now, and I haven't trained since I was 17.
HBO
How did you end up getting into performing when you were so young?
SEYFRIED
I grew up in Allentown, PA, which is about 70 miles from New York. My cousin was a model in the city, and when I was around 11, I followed in her footsteps. I started taking a bus into the city for photo shoots — my first job was modeling for a book jacket. And after a few years, at about 14, I started auditioning for acting roles. I didn't like auditions — I had no idea what I was doing, and I'd cry on the bus on the way home. I couldn't act, I wasn't comfortable trying, and I had no confidence. And I couldn't talk to anyone about it in school — no one understood.
HBO
But you managed to get some early breaks — including a soap opera?
SEYFRIED
I got a bit part on "As the World Turns." It was just two days of work, and you could tell how nervous I was. And that was that. Then at 16, I got a recurring role on "All My Children" for 10 months, playing "Joni." I was very independent, so I moved to New York and lived out of hotels for a while, then got an apartment. I think I missed 80 days of my senior year. I didn't excel as a student, so I didn't care very much. But then I got written off the show. Nobody cared where loser Joni went. So then I thought, now I'm gonna have to go to college. But a month later, I got the part for "Mean Girls."
HBO
You played Karen Smith, one of the ditzy beautiful popular girls who tags around with Rachel McAdams. What was that like?
SEYFRIED
It was fun, and it was a funny part. I got to do some crazy stuff.
HBO
That was a pretty big film — you starred alongside Lindsay Lohan. Did things change after that?
SEYFRIED
Some people treat you differently. I was with my mom at a mall about a month after it came out, and these young boys came up to me and tried to hug me. I'm a pushover, so I sort of let them, then I realized they were being little perverts, slimeballs. They asked me for Hillary Duff's number — I guess they think everyone who's been in a teen movie hangs out together?
HBO
What kind of reactions have you been getting to Big Love?
SEYFRIED
I ran into a girl in a store who said she was Mormon. She'd been watching it with a bunch of her friends and they were all really into it. She said she was expecting it to be not believable, but she thought it was. She was into it and thought it was cool.
HBO
Recently you've had parts in a lot of independent films with some impressive actors. Where will we see you next?
SEYFRIED
I was in a film called "Nines Lives" that just came out in video. It's a series of vignettes with actors like Glenn Close and Holly Hunter, directed by Rodrigo Garcia. I'm also in a film called "Alpha Dogs" that debuted at this year's Sundance. I play the sex interest of Justin Timberlake, who gets kidnapped. I had to pretend to smoke weed and drink beer (actually herbal cigarettes and water). We went through a weird three-week training camp to get us acquainted and get us in shape — we had to box and lift weights and everything. It was fun but grueling. But we all became pretty close after that.
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Video
Watch the promos and interviews for the show.
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