When I walked into her hotel room, Amanda Seyfried asked me to keep my distance.
Nothing personal, the 24-year-old actress said, but she was nursing a cold and didn’t want to infect me. That was her story, and she stuck to it. She even blew her nose a few times to sell the story.
Seyfried, fresh off her starring role in the worldwide blockbuster “Mamma Mia!” ($500 million and counting), is promoting her latest role opposite Channing Tatum in director Lasse Hallstrom’s romantic film “Dear John,” which opens Friday.
Seyfried and Tatum play a couple who meet on a summer beach and fall madly in love during a two-week courtship. But she has to return to school, and he must rejoin his Special Forces unit overseas, and their relationship is forced to survive by letter.
As she worked her way through a box of tissues, Seyfried explained what her breakthrough role in “Mamma Mia!” did for her career, why she left the HBO series “Big Love” and how Leonardo DiCaprio inspired her.
See photos of Amanda Seyfried and “Dear John”
In this interview, the actress was painfully honest about her looks. Although the world thinks she’s beautiful, she doesn’t necessarily agree.
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: When you got cast in “Mamma Mia,” did you have any idea what it might do for your career?
AMANDA SEYFRIED: Yes, I did. It was my first lead. And I was opposite Meryl Streep. That blew me away. But I didn’t have any idea just how big it would be, although I didn’t really care. It was my first lead in a movie opposite Meryl Streep.
Q. What was the impact on your career?
A. It took me to a drastically different level. “Mean Girls” took me from nowhere to here (she holds her hand up to waist level), and “Mamma Mia” took me to the ceiling. Everybody in the business suddenly knew who I was. I had been working a lot but, for many people, I came out of nowhere.
Q. Does your agent get a lot more offers?
A. It’s a lot more offers, it’s magazine covers and you end up on the short list of actresses who are sought for certain roles. All that good, fun, new stuff.
Q. That must feel great?
A. It does, but it doesn’t last. All of a sudden, everybody knows you and you’re not the new girl anymore. I like being the up-and-coming girl. I never want to be fully established. I never want to be forgotten.
Q. Whoa. You just went from the hot new girl to a forgotten has-been in two sentences?
A. That’s how Hollywood is. They change their minds so quickly.
Q. Are you really that insecure?
A. I think so.
Q. How do you prevent premature burnout?
A. You have to make the right decisions, but it’s hard to make the right decisions. What’s right for you isn’t necessarily what’s right for your career.
Q. Give me an example?
A. Let’s say I want to go to Hawaii to shoot a really fun comedy. That might not be the right move for my career. What might be better for my career is to do a small psycho thriller.
Q. Really?
A. If the psycho killer movie has a meaty role, and the comedy doesn’t, it’s the right move.
Q. Are you allowed to go from a leading role to a supporting role at this point in your career?
A. Absolutely. There are a lot of great supporting roles out there.
Q. Which brings me to this question: What’s a nice movie girl like you doing in a cable TV show like “Big Love?”
A. Cable is the new movie (she laughs).
Q. Seriously. Why are you still on a television show?
A. I got that role six years ago when I first came to L.A. I wanted to be part of that world. I just can’t believe it’s been six years.
Q. It doesn’t seem like six years?
A. Well, the show’s only been on for three years, but we started six years ago with the pilot, then a break, then the first season, then another break. But I’m no longer on the show.
Q. Did the movie career get in the way?
A. In a way, yes. But the producers and the cast understood that it was a small part for me when I took it. I only worked a couple of days a week. It’s getting harder to do both. And I wanted to move back to New York, and it was too difficult to live in both places. I want to be closer to my family, and closer to my boyfriend. So I left, but I’ll return as a guest star. I still love them.
Q. What kind of a movie career do you want?
A. I want a career where I can play anything.
Q. Do you think your looks will hold you back? Some might consider you too attractive to play just any role?
A. I’d never think that (she laughs). I think I can look any way.
Q. Do you think you’re attractive?
A. I didn’t like my face when I was younger, but I’m learning to embrace its qualities.
Q. What are its qualities?
A. I think I can be a chameleon. In “Jennifer’s Body,” I think I pulled it off, although some critics said I couldn’t hide behind those glasses. In “Dear John,” I was supposed to look cute, but I think I can also look not-so-cute for other roles.
Q. Do you feel cute in your everyday life?
A. No, I don’t feel that way. I have to watch what I eat all the time to stay thin. And that’s such a pain. I like playing characters who are not supposed to be attractive.
Q. But you know that’s how Hollywood sees you now?
A. But Charlize Theron was allowed to be in “Monster.” That was cool. She didn’t care about her looks.
Q. You seem to have trouble dealing with your looks?
A. I don’t always like what I look like. I’m no Olivia Wilde (13 from “House”), and I worried on the set of “Dear John” that they wouldn’t think I looked like they wanted me to look. That’s always my fear. I hoped they weren’t mad at me.
Q. Do you think it might be an irrational fear?
A. No, if I eat too much, it shows. I have a small frame. That’s why I loved “Jennifer’s Body.” I had a little chub going on, and it felt great.
Q. So, you never look good?
A. I know all the makeup tricks. I can look good if I have to.
Q. It’s all trickery?
A. That’s right.
Q. How was high school for you?
A. Nobody wanted to date me in high school, except for one incredible guy named Ben. But he was older. All my friends got nominated for prom queen, and I knew I would never be nominated.
Q. What was wrong with you?
A. I was pale, and had frizzy hair. I tried to look nice, but I didn’t feel like I looked nice.
Q. When you’ve used all your makeup tricks and the lighting is perfect, do you like what you see on the big screen?
A. Yes … well … I don’t know. It’s fine.
Q. Do you understand that you have beautiful eyes?
A. I like my eyes. And my legs. But I don’t know anybody who really likes what they look like. Everybody knows their weaknesses. The trick is not to look in the mirror.
Q. Luckily, somebody thought you were attractive enough to star opposite Channing Tatum in a romantic movie.
A. Isn’t he great-looking?
Q. Yes, you make a very nice couple. Do you like romantic movies?
A. Are you kidding? “Romeo & Juliet” with Leonardo DiCaprio is like my favorite movie of all time. I think it’s the reason I got into acting. Playing half of a romantic team is a dream-come-true for me.
Q. Why do you like romantic movies?
A. Watching them always makes me feel so emotional, even if I’m not in love at the time. It stays with you long after you leave the theater. It makes you feel a part of something.
Q. Do you think young people will go to see a romantic movie like this?
A. If I were 12, I would want see it.
Contact the writer: 714-796-5051, ext. 1110, or bkoltnow@ocregister.com
