The candid Amanda Seyfried speaks

Breakfast is served on Amanda Seyfried's farm in upstate New York, which means feeding horses, goats and Cliff, the 35-year-old pony. “I love it,” Seyfried said, “because nothing else matters because they need to be fed. It's a responsibility that allows me to focus on what's important.”

I asked, “What is it about this place that makes you feel the way it makes you feel?”

“I don't know if you know this, but Hollywood is really… it's complicated, and there's a lot of personalities,” Seyfried responded. “There are a lot of people who work in ways that don't necessarily feel like a safe place to be. This this is exactly what I always wanted.”

And she doesn't just put on a show for the cameras. “Last night it rained and poured and I did the same thing. I just didn’t look that good!” she said.

Seyfried lives here, but she goes where the work is, and there have been plenty of them – as the memorably clueless Karen in Mean Girls, later as Sophie in the mega-hit Mamma Mia!

A big change of pace came in 2020 when she played early Hollywood actress Marion Davies in the film Mank. This film earned Seyfried an Oscar nomination.

She agrees that she really wants to be challenged. “Because here’s the thing: the problem is within a certain parameter. I've had enough therapy, enough understanding and perspective to know what happens when I might fall too deep into something, and I have enough tools and support to prevent that from happening. So every time I say it's a challenge, it's very hardand I look back and think: I wouldn't want to do this again! But when I'm in it, it's more than a challenge; this is a new life. I’m born into something—a new version of myself.”

She's starring on screen in two films due out next month: the psychological thriller The Maid, starring Sydney Sweeney; and the dramatic musical “The Testament of Ann Lee.”

In this 18th-century story, Seyfried plays Ann Lee, founder of the Shakers, a religious sect that promoted equality and chastity even within marriage.

“Her conviction was the deciding factor,” Seyfried said of Lee. “The coolest thing about her is that she created a utopia. The idea that we are better off working together as equals rings true to this day. Like, if you take away power and control over each other, we can’t do anything.”

The cast received a lengthy standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, and the role made Seyfried an Oscar contender.

“It's like I worked as hard as I could in this particular experience, and I worked as hard as I could throughout my career, and I stayed true to who I am,” she said. “I have definitely changed, developed and become a better person. Am I still making mistakes? Uh-huh, yes. Am I still making bad choices? Yes! But I'm human and I do the best I can. And I'm good. And I’m damn good!” she laughed. “Because there is no other reason not to be.”

I can attest, she is… cute! And refreshingly honest. Raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Seyfried studied acting and music as a child and also worked as a model. During high school, she appeared regularly on the soap opera All My Children. She was on the show for ten months.

Why did she leave it? “Why did I leave? Why did Megan McTavish write me off? I don’t know, ask her!” she laughed.

Getting fired, even at 17, hurts. She decided she was done with acting, so she went to a kind of New York University, Fordham. “I, like, took the elevator, then stood there, looked at the elevators, then went down the escalator and went home. That was my time at Fordham,” she laughed.

Right out of college, Seyfried auditioned for Mean Girls, which became her first big break. “Mama Mia!” was her second. This led to the creation of the sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” 2018… or maybe a trilogy? When asked if there would be a third, she replied: “Yes, definitely.”

— Do we know anything about this story? I asked.

“No, I think if we all decided we'd do it for free, they'd be like, 'Cool. Let’s do it tomorrow,” she replied. “I know that Judy Craymer, who created it, is furiously working on the script. I'm just guessing that this will happen exactly ten years after we made the last movie, which was in '17. So we'll be filming it in 2027, 2028. Every ten years! I just don't know how they'll bring Meryl back.”

Well this is is the hardest part since her character (spoiler) is dead. Evil twin? “Here it is!” Seyfried smiled.

Some character traits may stay with Seyfried, such as the voice of Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos convicted of fraud, in the film The Dropout (2022). This role earned Seyfried an Emmy Award.

Seyfried is open about everything, including her struggles with severe anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, obstacles that she believes help her as an actress. “Everything I have, I've been diagnosed, I've been able to get it pointed in the right direction and take the right medication to use it to my advantage,” she said, “and, for the most part, shut it down when it's no longer helping. And it helped me. Self-hatred, self-judgment, all this helped me control myself at times.”

Seyfried, who turns 40 this week, is married to actor Thomas Sadowski. They have two children. During our conversation, her daughter and a guitar were nearby. It is one of many instruments Seyfried plays.

As she sang, she looked directly at her daughter.

Seeing her in her upstate farmhouse, surrounded by family and animals, reveals a down-to-earth movie star living a down-to-earth life.

“This is my world now,” she said. “I’ve been at this for 25 years or so. And I, like, feel completely at home in it. And people know me well enough that I don't feel like I have to prove anything. I treat people well. I'm not trying to hide any scandals – more! Wait! – and I'm not trying to, you know, hide or, like, run away from bad press. So it's like I made it easier on myself. Still!”

WEVB EXCLUSIVE: Watch the extended interview with Amanda Seyfried (Video)

To watch the trailer for The Testament of Ann Lee, click on the video player below:

To watch the trailer for The Maid, click on the trailer below:

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The story was produced by Gabriel Falcon. Editor: Ed Givnish.