Amanda Seyfried’s new movie The Testament of Ann Lee came out of the Venice Film Festival with a lot of momentum, for both the film itself and Amanda’s performance. Mona Fastvold directed the film from a script she co-wrote with her real life partner Brady Corbet, making this movie complementary to last year’s The Brutalist which they also co-wrote, and Corbet directed. Ann Lee follows the titular character, a real woman from the 1700s who founded the Shaker religious sect in America. Fastvold makes a point, though, of saying that the movie is “inspired by” the real Ann’s life, as opposed to a straight up biopic. The film includes a lot of the Shaker’s signature singing and dancing, often described as “ecstatic,” making the project an excellent showcase for Amanda. Not to get all Marlon Brando about it, but she could be a real contender during awards season. And while many actors in her heels have trotted out the campaign talking point of the physical transformation/sacrifice of a role, Amanda has been citing one very 21st century luxury she had to do without: Botox.
At the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of her film The Testament of Ann Lee on Tuesday, Sept. 9, the actress, 39, opened up about giving up Botox and makeup for her role as Ann Lee, the founder of the Shakers.
In speaking with Etalk on the red carpet, Seyfried said that the “sacrifice” was well worth it.
“I’m an actor and that’s my job and that’s what I love to do,” she told the outlet. “I don’t necessarily need all that in my life. I just like it. The things that I like, I can sacrifice a little. Of course I can.”
She added, “We did make sacrifices, and it was worth it. Every day was fun. We didn’t just survive, we thrived.”
The actress previously spoke about forgoing Botox as part of director Mona Fastvold’s no-makeup rule for The Testament of Ann Lee in an interview with Vanity Fair published on Aug. 26.
“I couldn’t get Botox for a year,” she told the magazine. “That was a big assignment… When I first got [Botox], I was, like, ‘This is amazing,’ because I frown a lot. But then it all came back in a way that was absolutely necessary for all the work I was doing.”
The Testament of Ann Lee had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on Monday, Sept. 1. The historical musical drama earned a 15-minute standing ovation after the screening — the longest of any film at this year’s event, surpassing the 13 minutes of applause given to Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein.
In video footage shared by Variety, Seyfried was captured getting emotional at the ovation as she gazed around in awe at her colleagues, including director/co-writer Fastvold.
Per a synopsis from the festival, The Testament of Ann Lee is “an epic fable inspired by the life of Ann Lee, the founder of the Shakers, a radical religious movement that began in the late 1700s.”
Take a quick trip with me, reader, if you will. Think of Austin Butler, years after filming Elvis and he was still all “I just can’t shake the accent!” And then, by contrast, we have Amanda Seyfried, proudly stepping up to the mic and declaring, “I gave up Botox, you guys!” I love her for this! Genuinely, I’m not being sarcastic or facetious at all! (I know sometimes it can be hard to tell…) This is what I’ve always enjoyed about Amanda: she is never too cool for school. She’s full unapologetic theater kid energy, yet without veering into Rachel Berry obnoxiousness. I’m thinking especially of how candid she’s been about how hard she worked for her six Wicked auditions to play Glinda. She wanted it bad! And then didn’t hide or deny it publicly, even though it didn’t go her way. But it sure sounds like playing Ann Lee is going her way in a very big way. And in Testament she still gets to show off her singing and dancing chops, only she’s traded flying monkeys for, according to Fastvold, “the best prosthetics we could possibly get for birthing vaginas.” Well, that’s me sold.
Photos credit: IPA/INSTARimages, IMAGO/Anna Maria Tinghino/Avalon, Cover Images, Stefano Costantino TTL/Avalon, Cobra Team/Backgrid
