Seyfried Calls Obscure 90s Sitcom Performance Acting Masterpiece
The Oscar-nominated star reveals an unexpected acting inspiration from a forgotten TV comedy that shaped her approach to complex characters.
Hollywood loves its cruel jokes. Take a stunning woman, slap some glasses on her face, add unflattering makeup, then declare her hideous. Amanda Seyfried endured this treatment in 2009's Jennifer's Body. The industry pulled another trick too - assuming blonde, beautiful actresses from soap opera backgrounds can't handle serious roles.
Seyfried proved both assumptions wrong. Her Oscar-nominated turn as Marion Davies in 2020's Mank showed real depth. Her upcoming role as a Shaker movement founder in Mona Fastvold's The Testament of Ann Lee pushes boundaries further. Her filmography keeps expanding in unexpected directions.
An Unlikely Acting Hero
Plenty of actresses could inspire Seyfried's career path. Female stars who broke free from typecasting fill Hollywood history. Her daytime TV and theater background isn't unusual either. But her biggest acting inspiration might shock you.
Thomas Haden Church holds that honor. Yes, the guy who played Sandman in Spider-Man movies. The same actor who brought Lyle van Groot to life in George of the Jungle. This character actor sets the bar for the Mamma Mia star.
The Wings Performance That Changed Everything
One specific role captured Seyfried's attention - Church's work as Lowell Mather in the 1990s sitcom Wings. "He's able to play idiotic yet truthful, and relatable and hilarious," she told Backstage in 2022. "I just think it's a master class... Playing characters like that is just so satisfying and harder than it seems. He's so consistently present."
She actually used his Wings performance as reference material while preparing for Mean Girls. That's how much his work influenced her approach.
The Forgotten Sitcom Success
Wings doesn't get the same love as Friends or Seinfeld today. But it dominated TV from 1990 to 1997. The show even beat Fresh Prince of Bel Air and The Simpsons in Nielsen ratings during parts of its run.
Set at a tiny Nantucket airport, the show featured Church as a lovable mechanic with limited brainpower. His character went through wild storylines over seven seasons, including a stint in Witness Protection. Church managed to make cognitive simplicity feel genuine and relatable.
Seyfried believes every actor should study how Church balanced stupidity with authentic emotion. He never won awards for Wings, but peer recognition from an Oscar nominee might mean more than any trophy. Then again, that's probably another Hollywood lie.