Actress Amanda Seyfried recently opened up about her dreams of performing on Broadway, revealing, however, that she would be too anxious to sing in front of a live audience.
Singing Challenges in The Testament of Ann Lee
Discussing the challenges of singing in her new historical musical drama, The Testament of Ann Lee, Seyfried shared her thoughts with Vanity Fair. “I’m always striving to just be a little better. But this movie has made me step back a bit and appreciate what I already have,” she said.
Her voice coach, who has been with her for a long time, expressed surprise, saying, “Where have you been?” To which Seyfried replied, “I’m okay now.” She explained that her original plan was to perform in a Broadway musical, but she decided against it due to her stage fright. “To be honest, my stage fright is like, life’s too short,” she admitted.
Liberation in Acceptance
Seyfried has come to find comfort in the realization that Broadway is not in her future. “When I decided that I wasn’t gonna do that for the foreseeable future, I just took a step back from voice lessons,” she reflected. While on set in Budapest, she recalled having two back-to-back nightmares about performing on Broadway. “I was talking to my agent during a break in my corseted dress and thinking, ‘I can’t put myself through that,’” she recounted.
“It’s a devastating thing to uncover about myself, but it doesn’t mean I’m weak. It just means that I know myself well enough to know that this will break me – and that was really liberating.”
Career Highlights
Seyfried made her feature film debut in the iconic teen comedy Mean Girls in 2004. The film, which also starred Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, and Tina Fey, became a massive hit with audiences, and Seyfried continues to receive reminders of the project.
When asked if she has revisited Mean Girls, she replied, “No. It’s on often enough, though. I love it. I really love seeing my face on people’s T-shirts.” However, she expressed a bit of frustration, revealing that Paramount still owes her money for the use of her likeness. “Every store sells Mean Girls T-shirts with our faces. Don’t I get something from that? Even the girl at TSA tells me it’s her favourite movie.”