Joni Mitchell covers are not for the faint of heart or voice, so Amanda Seyfried‘s decision to cover a verse from the singer’s 1971 classic “California” on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon” last week was a brave one — not just because of the celestial high note on the chorus, but because she also accompanied herself on the dulcimer.
Social media quickly jumped in, with fans urging Seyfried to be cast as the young Mitchell in Cameron Crowe’s forthcoming biopic.
However, Seyfried insists the viral “Tonight Show” moment was not part of a campaign to try to win the role. “It was not an audition,” she tells me on the “Just for Variety” podcast. “In fact, I didn’t even consider that, which is funny. What I know about that project is that I’m very, very much aged-out of [playing] young Joni.”
Seyfried’s latest project is “Long Bright River,” Peacock’s series adaptation of Liz Moore’s bestselling novel of the same name. Seyfried plays Mickey Fitzpatrick, a cop in Philadelphia’s rough Kensington neighborhood. As a serial killer starts targeting sex workers in the area, Mickey’s sister, Casey (Ashleigh Cummings), a drug addicted sex worker living on the streets, goes missing.
“Long Bright River” can be tough to watch at times as the series examines life on the streets, the opioid crisis, alcoholism, sexual grooming, family secrets and corrupt cops. Seyfried says she decompressed after after filming some rather “hard shit” during the car rides to and from the Brooklyn sets and the Catskills home she shares with husband Thomas Sadoski and their two kids.
“My assistant and I would drive to work together and drive home together,” Seyfried says. “I think we kind of laughed a lot and gossiped a lot to and from work. So when the hard shit happened, when I was playing all that emotional stuff, we just wouldn’t take it back in the car with us, subconsciously. It’s not like we were like, ‘We shouldn’t talk about that. We’re going to talk about this.’ We would listen to Taylor Swift really loud some days because the commute is sometimes 90 minutes.”
Their go-to Swift albums? “The Tortured Poets Department” and “Midnights.”
I caught up with Seyfried over Zoom. You can listen to the full conversation at “Just for Variety” above or wherever you download your favorite podcasts.
What was it like seeing yourself in a cop uniform for the first time?
I went to the production office a couple weeks before filming with Claire Parkinson, who actually also was the costume designer for “The Dropout,” which is crazy. So what a transformation. The last time I was with Claire, I was in the turtleneck. Then I’m standing there in front of the mirror with this uniform from the real factory where they make the uniforms. And I was just like, “I get it. I can do this. I can totally do this. I do not feel uncomfortable in this uniform.” Maybe it was because I’d wrapped my head around it already, maybe I had already done the ridealong [Seyfried shadowed Kensington police officers before filming began], maybe it’s because I had enough space and time to picture myself there.
What kind of research did you do into addiction?
I had a lot of life experience because I think most of us are touched by, have some connection to somebody who’s suffered with substance use and have some people who have OD’d, some people who have OD’d and are still alive, and some people who are in and out of rehab, or some people who are recovered. I grew up with somebody who is an addict and two people close to me, and everybody has their stories… I also had a lot of people that I could talk to, especially this woman named Sarah Laurel, who runs this place called Savage Sisters Recovery, and they’re on the ground in Kensington everyday all the time. They drive in a van around and do wound care and give out Narcan. And this woman who started it was also an addict, suffered from addiction and OD’d many times. She was very, very open about her story and is recovering and saving people’s lives.
Amanda Seyfried and Ashleigh Cummings in Peacock’s “Long Bright River.”
Peacock
Did your perspective on addiction change?
Yeah. Somebody I’m in touch with recently now is dealing with someone who is lost and absolutely in the throes of addiction. Two years ago, I would’ve been like, “Just expect them to overdose. Just expect it to go bad.” That’s actually not the conversation you should be having with yourself or other people. Don’t take away that opportunity. This person hasn’t hit rock bottom yet. They might not in the next five years, but in 10, 15 years, they might actually thrive, they might actually figure this out, and they might actually get help at the time they need. They might actually recover. It’s incredible. It’s incredible how many times someone can be knocked down and get back up.
That’s beautiful.
I’m glad I learned a lot in this show. I always learn something when I work, but it is interesting how little space we give people to change for the better.
Taking a turn here, when is the “Jennifer’s Body” sequel happening?
Don’t know.
But you want it to happen, right?
I haven’t seen anything, but one of the producers and I were in touch with it last year about it, and he just said, “Would you?” And I said, “Yes.”
And bring Megan Fox back.
Oh, for sure. Listen, I’m pretty sure she’s about to have a baby, but I think by the time we do it, I wouldn’t do it without her.
“The Dropout” Season 2. When do you start filming?
Absolutely never. I think too much time has passed. I also think we should just let Elizabeth Holmes be Elizabeth Holmes in whatever way she’s going to be, however her life ends up. I have no doubt that she’s got big plans. You can’t hold someone like that down.
What about Mickey’s future?
It’s not written. I’m sure when the push comes to shove, it would be a great opportunity, and I would do it because Mickey is complicated, so there’s never an end to the challenge for me.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Read the full article here
