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AMANDASEYFRIEDTALKSABOUTRAISINGHER‘THREENAGER’WHATSHE
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ince making her film debut in Mean
Girls in 2004, Amanda Seyfried has
certainly packed a lot into her career.
Starring as Meryl Streep’s daughter in
2008’s Mamma Mia! propelled her to leading
lady status, and as roles like Cosette in Les
Misérables raised her profile, her love life hit
the headlines too.
After a two-year relationship with her
Mamma Mia! co-star Dominic Cooper,
Amanda was linked to actors Ryan Phillippe,
James Franco and Josh Hartnett – but she
met ‘The One’ in Thomas Sadoski in 2016.
After a whirlwind romance, they married the
following year when Amanda was nine months
pregnant with their first child, Nina, now
two. ‘It’s the absolute best,’
Amanda says of motherhood.
‘And I want another kid.’
The other love in the
33 year old’s life is her dog,
Australian Shepherd Finn,
which explains why she was
a blubbering wreck when
she first read the script for
her latest movie, The Art Of
Racing In The Rain, starring
Milo Ventimiglia. The film’s
lead is a golden retriever
voiced by Kevin Costner
and, it’s safe to say, you
should pack your tissues for
the cinema.
‘I soaked Milo’s handkerchief
with tears at the table read,’ says
Amanda, who plays dog-averse
Eve – a tough gig for the animal
lover, who lives on a farm north
of New York. ‘People were asking
me if I was okay, but I just found
the story so sad.’
Here, she opens up about
the wonders of motherhood and
awkward screen kisses...Is your daughter Nina in the
throes of the ‘terrible twos’?
She’s not terrible. She’s more of
a threenager, that’s what they call them. She
seems like she’s older than she is. I love it. I
love being a mother so much. It’s so much fun. How do you handle being away from her
when you have to travel for work?
I left her three days ago to work on press for
this movie and I missed her so much. I just
love the things she’s saying at the moment.
It’s so nice to be present in her world. It’s like
a huge adventure. How much has motherhood changed you?
I was rolling around life before this; I was
content, I was working. But then I metTommy and, all of a sudden, I
got pregnant. Now life seems
amazing. I feel like I’m on [magic]
mushrooms all the time, although I
don’t even know what it feels like to
be on mushrooms. Everything is in
Technicolor because [children] see
the world that way and now you get
to see it that way, too.What has motherhood taught you
about yourself?
I learnt there were some things I
didn’t need to hold on to any more,
I’m not as worried about what
people think of me now. As soon
as you become
pregnant, you
realise your life
really isn’t yours
any more – but in a
good way. Has your relationship
with your mum Ann
changed too?
It’s changed a lot. My
mum is our nanny, so
we’ve become really
close. I so appreciate
what she did for us
growing up. She was
supportive without
meddling and she let us
thrive. I had my dad around,
but she was like a single mother
who took care of everything. I
can’t imagine doing that. I think
the bravest thing anyone can
do is raise a child alone.What values did your mum
teach you that you’d like to
pass on to your daughter?
She always
taught me
to think
before you
speak, which is a hard one
for me – I was much less
filtered ten years ago –
but I’d like to teach that
to my daughter. I think it’s
important to see strong
women role models
growing up and my mum
was very strong.Any plans to have baby
number two?
The problem is
scheduling, it’s really
hard. But everybodyaround me is having their second child and
I’m like, dammit... I want one, too. I’m really
feeling the pressure. It’s a nice way to be. Milo Ventimiglia plays your lover in your
new movie – how awkward were the
kissing scenes?
It’s always awkward the first time. We kept
bumping each other’s teeth, which made it
hilarious. You have to talk about boundaries,
but I trusted Milo. The more we laughed
about things, the easier it became. How sad is the story of The Art Of Racing
In The Rain?
It’s based on a book, which I read when it
came out 11 years ago. It’s a really sweet story
about a family, which is something I think
about a lot right now. I cried at the premiere- it’s because I love my dog, Finn, and there’s
a dog at the heart of this story. Dogs are a
source of light and positivity and we need
them in our lives. But crying is really good for
the heart. If you’ve got something to emit, you
should probably let it out. Like a burp!
‘THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN’ IS OUT NOW.INTERVIEW BY ALAN
TANNER EDITED
BY ANNA BAILEY
PHOTOGRAPHS BY
ADOLFO FRANZO/
CAMERA PRESS, GETTY
IMAGES, INSTAGRAMWWW.OK.CO.UK 67Amanda alongside Ryan Kiera
Armstrong and Milo Ventimiglia
in The Art Of Racing In The RainefppAbove: Thomas Sadoski
and Amanda and their
daughter Nina (below)Above: Last week Amanda posted a
picture of herself aged eight. Right:
Her dog Finn and tortoise FrankOK!