Interview by Elisa Leonelli
In the TV miniseries Long Bright River, created by Nikki Toscano and based on Liz Moore’s 2020 novel, Amanda Seyfried plays a Philadelphia policewoman worried about the fate of her sister, who has been missing for a month, and charged with investigating the murder of three women, in a neighborhood populated by homeless people often addicted to opiates.
The actress, who starred in Mamma Mia! in 2008, also played Marion Davis in the David Fincher movie Mank (2020) and Elizabeth Holmes in the miniseries The Dropout (2022). She is married to actor Thomas Sadoski, with whom she has two children: Nina, born in 2017, and Thomas (his middle name), born in 2020.
Why were you interested in playing this character so different from you in a series that gives a human face to women who live in homeless encampments and sometimes prostitute themselves to buy drugs?
Amanda Seyfried: For the same reason that the book has been so successful, because it offers a completely different perspective on a community that people think they know: homelessness, sex workers, the opioid epidemic. We see them in a certain way for how they’re shot on the news, but Liz Moore turns the camera in a different direction and humanizes this community, generates empathy and compassion for these people, makes them three-dimensional, so we can step into their shoes emotionally. Each of us could make two or three bad choices in life and find ourselves homeless fighting opioid addiction. It doesn’t take much, and this series clearly shows us that the choice to take drugs was made a long time ago, and now these women have no other option. We hope that this will change the minds of some viewers.
You were also born in Philadelphia, but I don’t think the neighborhood of Kensington resembles the one in which you grew up. How were you influenced to give a different direction to your life by your environment and family?
Amanda Seyfried: My father still lives in the house where I was born, near the Muhlenberg College campus in Allentown. It was one of those neighborhoods where I could ride my bike with my friends all day until it was dark and then come home for dinner. I felt protected without having to constantly think about the dangers that I might face. I can still go back there today, and I know every house, I have memories on every block, and they’re all positive. While the Kensington neighborhood has been marginalized, feared and avoided, because it is considered the epicenter of the opioid epidemic, and despite everyone trying to clean it up, its essence cannot be removed. But there are a lot of volunteers who are providing services in this community, and they all feel connected, because they speak the same language, so their relationship works.
What did you do to learn how to behave like a cop?
Amanda Seyfried: I really wanted to try to become this kind of person, because my big fear was that I wouldn’t be credible as a policeman. So I made friends with two policewomen, who are as small and slender as I am, even if more forceful. As in the book, Mickey’s strength is how she relates to people emotionally and practically, not physically. I think the intimidation comes from the uniform and the lack of attention to what people think about her. That kind of attitude is very powerful. I understand that policemen are human beings who wear uniforms, and do their job, taking care of the civilians’ community that they are surrounded by every day. These two cops also have their own children, they’re single mothers, just like Mickey, and they knew how to talk to people, knowing that the law was on their side. They wouldn’t hurt anybody, but they would protect themselves.
Photo by: David Holloway (c) Peacock TV
What kind of research did you do to understand the crisis of opioid addiction?
Amanda Seyfried: Unfortunately, like most of us, I am close to people who have struggled with substance abuse issues, and I have seen the level of devastation, which is appalling. Hence my lack of desire to try any drugs, except weed. As research I watched the TV series Painkiller and Dopesick, both about the Sackler family, which I found wonderful and instructive. But our series is focused on the daily lives of people like homeless prostitutes, who try to get by in order to afford the next dose of drugs.
What effect do you hope to achieve with the creation of this series to change viewers’ opinion on how to deal with these social problems?
Amanda Seyfried: People need to realize how the opioid epidemic continues to affect people, and that it is no longer necessarily a choice. And, as dark as there are sides, there’s also a lot of light in that community, a lot of art, beautiful people doing incredible work. There are also people who have managed to rehabilitate themselves and continue to strive every day to make sure their friends do the same. It’s an amazing thing. Of course, I know there seems to be so much more to do, and sometimes we feel helpless, but I’ve been able to relate my own experiences with drug addiction, and that’s opened my eyes to how I might see it differently.
Photo by David Holloway (c) Peacock TV
As a mother and an American citizen, what are your major concerns about the current state of the world, whether it be the climate crisis or the ongoing wars?
Amanda Seyfried: I understand that what America does has a big impact on the rest of the world. And in order not to jump off a cliff and lose all faith, I always reflect on everything we have in my family that I’m very grateful for. For the sake of this planet and of society, I must pretend to believe that everything I see happening or that is said and the actions taken will be retracted the next day, because I have the impression that there are no checks and balances. I don’t see them right now, but I have faith in democracy, and I really have to hold on to that, because I feel like I’m losing all control as a woman, as a parent, as someone who’s trying to be responsible, trying to maintain a commitment to sustainability in my home and outside. But we can only do what we can do, because egos are powerful and we have put that person in power. That sucks. But it’s only four years, right? I know that the power of each of us can make a difference in society, but I don’t feel that kind of hope at the top, which drives me crazy.
Mickey explains to his son the meaning of Charles Gounot’s opera Faust, based on Goethe’s novel. Do you teach your children a lot of things too?
Amanda Seyfried: Yes, I admit that I am guilty. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but I try to pass on my passions, to convince them to do certain activities, hoping that they will try. I never really studied dance, but I’m passionate about watching it. My daughter is now taking ballet lessons and I’m glad she loves it very much. She dances beautifully around the house, obsessed with Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. As parents, we have a lot of power over our children’s hobbies, so we have to be careful what they want to do and respect their wishes, but when the two are the same, it’s great. In the series we want to show how unpleasant the way in which the mother forces her son to study symphonies and classical music, because she thinks she can communicate with him. I wouldn’t necessarily act like that, but Mickey has his failures, too, like all of us have them.
Originally posted in Italian on Best Movie, Italy