Amanda Seyfried has no hard feelings about missing out on appearing in the Wicked movies.
“I’m over it. It’s all happened [exactly how it is meant to]. I truly believe that,” Seyfried, 40, said on the Thursday, December 18, episode of the “Dear Chelsea” podcast. “It was for the best, for sure, for everyone involved because I got to do [The Testament of Ann Lee] too.”
Seyfried auditioned for the role of Glinda in Jon M. Chu’s big-screen adaptation of the popular Broadway musical. The part eventually went to Ariana Grande, who received both Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for her portrayal.
As for Seyfried, she had prepared her voice for the part.
“I completely let go of the need to access something that I might not ever be able to access in terms of, like, control of the vibrato and the stamina and the breath work,” the actress acknowledged of her vocal skills to podcast host Chelsea Handler. “I understand that I’m not going to be starring in a musical on Broadway, where I need the kind of stamina that I’ve been trying to build.”
While Seyfried has often tried to “stop listening” to the sound of her own voice, she did go back to watch her Wicked audition tape.
“I sang better than I thought I would,” Seyfried said. “I think it came with the excitement, the momentum of how much I was training for it, and I was very proud of myself. That will never go away.”
Despite not being cast in the project, Seyfried realized some key truths about her voice in the process.
“I realized, ‘Maybe, I’m not that kind of singer, and I don’t need to sound like anyone else,’” she stated. “It took me four years, but at least I’m here. When I listen to the songs [I did for] Les Mis, it was exactly how it needed to be for that time.”
Seyfried has starred in several movie adaptations of beloved musicals, 2008’s Mamma Mia! and its Here We Go Again sequel, as well as 2012’s Les Misérables. Seyfried starred as Sophie Sheridan in the ABBA-soundtracked franchise and Cosette in Les Mis. Her upcoming movie The Testament of Ann Lee is also a musical.
“[When] Ann Lee came, the opportunity was amazing,” Seyfried said on Thursday’s episode. “It was just perfect for where my voice was in that it’s a human voice [and] not a trained voice.”
Seyfried stars as the titular character in Mona Fastvold’s The Testament of Ann Lee. Lee was the founding leader of the Shaker Movement, who followers often declared was the female version of Jesus Christ.
“Curiosity is the best part of life, and you’re never, ever gonna see anything like this again. I mean, not for a while,” Seyfried exclusively told Us Weekly earlier this month about why Ann Lee will resonate with audiences. “I think we’re talking about a real historical figure that most of us don’t even know about, and her story is pretty radical.”
Seyfried further gushed that the project was “an extraordinary piece of art.”
“This changed my life as a musician as well, not as an actor, but as a musician. It’s completely revolutionized how I relate to music and myself,” she told Us. “You’re not gonna believe the fact that you’re gonna get these shaker hymns stuck in your head and you’re gonna want to hear them again and again.”
The Testament on Ann Lee debuts in theaters Thursday, December 25.
