TAGGED AS: Awards, streaming, TV
This week on the Awards Tour podcast, Rotten Tomatoes Awards Editor Jacqueline Coley chats with Oscar-nominated actress Amanda Seyfried about her new Peacock series Long Bright River. In the show, Seyfried plays a police officer who patrols a Philadelphia neighborhood hit hard by the opioid crisis. The Pennsylvania-native actress discusses how, after reading the script, she immediately sensed a connection to the character of Mickey and felt compelled to tell this story.
Tune in as Seyfried also talks about how she chooses her projects, what it was like to work with the incomparable Paul Feig in ‘The Housemaid (releasing later this year), and which cult classic movies should be turned into musicals.
Please enjoy this preview of our conversation with Amanda Seyfried and watch the entire discussion in the video above.
Jacqueline Coley for Rotten Tomatoes: I didn’t realize your close association with Philly. You were born and raised in Allentown. How did you become involved in the series, and why did you want to be a part of it?
Amanda Seyfried: My involvement actually started with a text message from Katherine Pope, who produced The Dropout. She was making this as well, and I guess she just wanted me to take a look because she thought it was kind of right for me. As soon as I found out, the log line really sold it to me because it was about a cop in Philly, and I always wanted to play like a beat cop, not a detective, but somebody who was wearing the uniform. I couldn’t really wrap my head around it as I was slightly uncomfortable, or at least lacked all the authority to play somebody with authority who is empowered, who is wearing a uniform and a belt and a gun and who knows how to be a cop in the world.
RT: I love your character; she is so dogged and determined. Was that the appeal for you?
Seyfried: There are so many reasons. I love Mickey and I loved playing Mickey. I mean, there are a lot of differences between us, but I think her trauma, like everybody’s trauma, really shapes them. And when you recognize that and have some self-awareness and awareness of the things that have hurt you, the people who have hurt you, and the circumstances that have made you feel unsafe as a child, I think when you utilize that and to the best of your advantage, you use it to help you walk through the world. I respect the way Mickey has an attitude of just getting to the point and her lack of care for how people respond to her; she just doesn’t. My failing is that I’m too eager to create a level of comfort for people, a space for people to feel comfortable, and it’s not my place.
Watch the video for the full interview with Amanda Seyfried.
Long Bright River is streaming now on Peacock.
