Amanda Seyfried: Why Chasing Oscars Isn’t Her Priority

Amanda Seyfried isn’t fussed about ever taking home an Oscar. Wrapping up 2025 on a high, she saw The Housemaid smash it at the box office, while her performance in The Testament of Ann Lee landed her a Golden Globe nod. There’s been plenty of chatter about her being a frontrunner for Best Actress at the next Academy Awards, but Seyfried’s not losing sleep over it. She was previously up for Best Supporting Actress for Mank back in 2021, but the golden statue itself doesn’t seem to be on her bucket list.

Chatting with The New Yorker, Seyfried reflected on her journey so far:

“I’ve already gotten so far without an Oscar, so why would I need one now?”

She went on,

“Do you remember who won in the past ten years? It’s not the win that’s important. It’s the nomination.”

For the record, Brie Larson nabbed Best Actress for Room a decade ago. Seyfried admitted a nomination would be nice, but it’s not the be-all and end-all. She reckons it’s the choices she makes, not a trophy, that’ll keep her career ticking along.

“It does thrust you forward. That’s a fact. Now, do I need one in a week or two or whenever? No, of course, I don’t. Would it be great? Of course it would, for every reason. But it isn’t necessary. Longevity in an actor’s career is designed. Longevity is about deliberate choices to make art among the big commercial things that are fun and pay.”

Rethinking the Value of Awards

Seyfried’s comments come hot on the heels of Melissa Leo’s frank admission that winning Best Supporting Actress for The Fighter

“has not been good for me or my career. I didn’t dream of it, I never wanted it, and I had a much better career before I won.”

Not every Oscar winner finds doors flung open. Some, like last year’s Mikey Madison, get their pick of scripts, but others aren’t so lucky. Lupita Nyong’o, who won for 12 Years a Slave in 2013, shared that after her win, she was mostly offered roles about enslaved people, rather than the big leads she’d hoped for.

Seyfried’s own path shows that awards aren’t the only way to measure success. She’s been in cult favourites like Mean Girls, Jennifer’s Body, and Mamma Mia—films that might not have scored Academy recognition but have a loyal following and a solid spot in pop culture. She’s had her share of missteps too, like turning down Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy and starring in a few box office duds. Seyfried’s honest about it:

“We all have ebbs and flows in our careers, and how we’re perceived can change from day to day, but I’m consistent in my choices and I’m consistent in my values and my needs. I’m also sitting pretty right now, because ‘The Housemaid’ made money. That’s not always the case. Sometimes you’re in ‘Mamma Mia!’ Sometimes, you do something like ‘Ted 2,’ or ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West,’ which were both supposed to do big box-office, and underperformed.”

Box Office Triumphs and What’s Next

Even if Seyfried doesn’t end up with a Best Actress nomination for The Testament of Ann Lee, she’s clearly chuffed with how The Housemaid has performed. The thriller, which also stars Sydney Sweeney, has raked in $108 million in the US and $245 million worldwide, all on a $35 million budget. Not a bad result by any measure.

Looking ahead, Seyfried’s next project is The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd, directed by Tim Blake Nelson. She’ll be sharing the screen with Scoot McNairy, Missi Pyle, William Jackson Harper, and Sinners Wunmi Mosaku. Whether or not there’s an Oscar in her future, Seyfried’s focus is firmly on making deliberate choices and keeping her career on her own terms.