For “Mank” star Amanda Seyfried, she keeps her phone on silent and turns off all her notifications, so when she received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress as Marion Davies in the David Fincher film, her publicist called her mother and woke her up with the good news.
“It’s nice to talk about something you care about and you’re proud of,” Seyfried tells Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast. “And it’s a person that existed, and we got to re reshape her legacy.” Listen below!
In this week’s episode, Seyfried talks about working with David Fincher on his old Hollywood examination of one of the greatest films ever made, “Citizen Kane.” She also exclusively shares with Variety that she has sent in her recording of “Popular” from the hit musical “Wicked,” which is being helmed by Universal Pictures and “In the Heights” director Jon M. Chu. Wanting to play the role of the Good Witch Glinda, she also talks about riding around Los Angeles with “Les Misérables” star Samantha Barks, her personal choice for Elphaba, and singing “For Good.”
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Also in this edition, we sit down with Thomas Vinterberg, the surprise Oscar-nominated director of “Another Round,” and how his Danish film was one of the most personal experiences of his life, faced with adversity and tragedy.
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Before the interviews, the Awards Circuit roundtable discusses the winners of the Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony, and what it means for the Oscars race for best actress (Viola Davis vs. the other four?), supporting actress (is Maria Bakalova still in the race?) and the upcoming Emmy Awards (set to be dominated by “The Crown” and “Ted Lasso”).
Here’s an excerpt from our Amanda Seyfried interview:
What roles do you find yourself attracted to these days?
Seyfried: It changes. It’s gotten a little more specific, as I’ve gotten older. I want to be in the hands of a great director. The script is obviously where it all starts, right? It’s the basis of the whole project. It has to be interesting, at least to the point where it makes sense. I hate reading. I’m an audible person and I know within the first 10 pages of the script if it’s going to be something that I want to be a part of. And the older I get, the better the roles are, which didn’t use to be true. Once you have a baby, you’re not the ingenue anymore. Now I get to play mothers, who are innately more interesting to me.
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jenelle Riley, Jazz Tangcay and Michael Schneider (who produces), is your one-stop listen for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each week “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives; discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines; and much, much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts. New episodes post every Thursday.