
Here's why Amanda Seyfried turned down ‘Guardians of the Galaxy' role
Actress Amanda Seyfried revealed that she turned down a role in 'Guardians of the Galaxy' over fears it would be 'Marvel's first bomb' because it had a 'talking tree and a talking raccoon'. The 39-year-old actress has revealed she was in the running for the part of Gamora before the role went to Zoe Saldana. She also shared that she turned it down over concerns which included the fact that the 2014 Chris Pratt movie would need her to spend hours in the make-up chair every day to achieve the character's green skin, reports femalefirst.co.uk. During an appearance on the 'Happy Sad Confused' podcast, Seyfried said: 'I was really scared of the idea of being stuck and painted a different colour because of the amount of time (it takes).
'It was a giant opportunity. I had just met (director) James (Gunn) in person. He is wonderful. Apparently someone said he didn't remember but it's definitely true. I definitely got the offer for it and I mulled over it for a couple days. 'I didn't want to live in London for six months out of the year. There was another movie I really wanted to do with Seth MacFarlane called 'A Million Ways to Die in the West.' It felt like a good opportunity.' The actress went on to add she was also worried the film could harm her Hollywood career. She said: 'Let's also remember that being a part of the first Marvel movie that bombs ain't good for your career. I thought that because this was about a talking tree and a talking raccoon that it would be Marvel's first bomb and me and Chris Pratt would never work again. I was wrong! But I was just being smart. It's not brave.'
The film went on to be a huge success and spawned two sequels, however, she has no regrets over turning the part down. She said: '(James Gunn is) a genius and he's fun and he's a wonderful filmmaker, and he can make anything work. But I was way too scared. I was at a precarious moment in my career and I didn't want to suffer for the work. 'Sitting there (in the make-up chair) for four-and-a-half hours every morning seemed like it wasn't going to be fun. I had done some green screen stuff and it wasn't my best or my cup of tea then. I don't regret anything. I made that decision for myself. It was good for me then and it was good for me now.'
She added: 'I also think that Zoe (Saldana) and Chris and everybody who's a part of that movie are having the best time and it worked for them, and I love that. And I love that I was able to stay with my gut.'
Amanda Seyfried began acting at 15, with a recurring role as Lucy Montgomery in the CBS soap opera As the World Turns (1999–2001). She came to prominence for her feature film debut in the teen comedy Mean Girls (2004), and for her roles as Lilly Kane in the UPN mystery drama series Veronica Mars (2004–2006) and Sarah Henrickson in the HBO drama series Big Love (2006–2011).
Agencies
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The National
27-05-2025
- The National
Cast of Avengers: Doomsday movie gather for filming in Bahrain
The cast of Marvel 's big-ticket Avengers: Doomsday have been photographed in Bahrain, where filming for the movie is thought to be taking place. Photos of some of the cast shared on social media have offered fans clues about what to expect in the fifth film of the blockbuster Avengers series. Directed by the Russo brothers, Anthony and Joe, Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to be released on December 18 next year. On Friday, Address Beach Resort hosted a dinner with some of the cast members. The event included Joe Russo, Anthony Mackie (who plays Captain America), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Winston Duke (M'Baku), Letitia Wright (Shuri), Tenoch Huerta (Namor), Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost), Danny Ramirez (Falcon) and Alex Livinalli (Attuma). While not spotted at the event, the film's ensemble cast is also set to include Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) and Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova) among others. Robert Downey Jr, who famously played Iron Man, will return to the MCU as supervillain Doctor Doom. A full cast is yet to be revealed. "This past weekend, Address Beach Resort Bahrain had the marvelous honour of hosting some of Hollywood's most iconic stars," the resort posted on Instagram on Tuesday. Earlier in the week, fans also shared photos of the cast dining at Sumosan, the Japanese restaurant located within the hotel. While much of the plot remains tightly under wraps, Avengers: Doomsday marks the return of the Russo brothers to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The duo have directed four Marvel films, including the record-breaking Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). They will also direct follow-up Avengers: Secret Wars, scheduled for a December 2027 release. 'When we directed Avengers: Endgame, we really believed it was the end for us in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,' Joe Russo told fans at San Diego Comic-Con last year, when the film's title was announced. 'That four-movie run was incredible, and it left us creatively spent.' But "a very special story" convinced them to come back, he said. "It's the biggest story that Marvel comics ever told. It's the reason that Anthony and I are standing up here.'


Khaleej Times
26-05-2025
- Khaleej Times
What's keeping Jennifer Lopez is "super excited"? A sneak peek
Singer Jennifer Lopez shared why she is excited about her upcoming busy summer months. The 2025 American Music Awards host opened up about the things that are keeping her busy in the coming months. "I'm excited to tour," People magazine quoted Lopez as saying. "... I'm excited to get back out there." "It seems like a perfect summer to celebrate being free and being happy," she added. "Just everything in my life right now just feels really healthy and good, and I'm ready to get out there and make people sing and dance and have a good time. That's always my goal." The actor will embark on her first tour in six years, Up All Night Live, which will begin in Egypt on July 4. Lopez also intends to spend time this summer with her 17-year-old twins, Emme and Max, whom she had with ex-husband Marc Anthony, People reported. Earlier, Lopez shared how she has been preparing to return after a decade as the host of the 2025 American Music Awards at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas on May 26. She has been "rehearsing for a couple of weeks" on her first "big television performance in a while," according to E! News."I took last year off and I went back in and my first thing was doing a movie," she said, adding, "So, this is getting back into my performance mode in a way. "Noting that she is "excited about that," she added, "We're going to be celebrating all the music of the year." The American Music Awards will air live from the Fontainebleau Las Vegas at 8 pm on CBS and Paramount+.


Khaleej Times
25-05-2025
- Khaleej Times
Scarlett Johansson on directing debut, old Hollywood glamour, and ‘Eleanor the Great'
Few movie stars today win over critics and convey Old Hollywood glamour as effortlessly as Scarlett Johansson does, all while seemingly impervious to the industry's convulsions. Now 40, she has been famous most of her life. She turned 10 the year her first movie, 'North,' opened in 1994; four years later, she was upstaging Robert Redford in 'The Horse Whisperer.' In the decades since, she starred in cult films and blockbusters, made a record with Pete Yorn and earned a couple of Oscar nominations. Between hits and misses, she also married three times (most recently to Colin Jost) and had two children. The kind of diverse professional portfolio that Johansson has cultivated can make life more interesting, of course, but it's also evidence of shrewd, career-sustaining choices. In 2010, she made her critically celebrated Broadway debut in a revival of Arthur Miller's tragedy 'A View From the Bridge.' (She went on to win a Tony.) That same year, she slipped on a bodysuit to play lethal Russian superspy Black Widow in Marvel's 'Iron Man 2,' a role that propelled her into global celebrity. On Tuesday, Johansson publicly took on another role when she presented her feature directing debut, 'Eleanor the Great,' at the Cannes Film Festival. Playing outside the main lineup, it is the kind of intimately scaled, performance-driven movie that's ideal for a novice director. June Squibb stars as 94-year-old Eleanor, who, soon after the story opens, moves into her daughter's New York apartment. Life gets complicated when Eleanor inadvertently ends up in a support group for Holocaust survivors. It gets even trickier when a journalism student insists on writing about Eleanor. A friendship is born, salted with laughter and tears. I met with Johansson the day after the premiere of 'Eleanor the Great.' She first walked the festival red carpet in 2005 for 'Match Point,' returning last year with 'Asteroid City.' (She's also in 'The Phoenician Scheme,' which is here, too.) It had rained hard the day of her premiere, but the sky was blue when she stepped onto a hotel terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. Seated in a quiet corner shaded by a large umbrella, Johansson was friendly, pleasant and a touch reserved. Wearing the largest diamond that I've seen outside of a Tiffany window, she kept her sunglasses on as we talked, the consummate picture of movie stardom. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation. Tell me about the genesis of the project. I have a production company called These Pictures, and we get all kinds of submissions. I wasn't looking for something to direct at that moment. I read it because I was fascinated to see what June Squibb was starring in because I love her, and I was so surprised by the story. It had a lot of elements of films that I love, independent films from the '90s and early aughts. It was New York-based, very character driven. And the plot device was so surprising. It made me cry. I immediately called my producing partner and was, like, I can direct this. I know how to make it. Not everyone just thinks they can direct... When I was much younger, I thought I would end up doing that eventually. In my early 20s, I became focused on understanding my job as an actor better. I was creatively engaged with the directors I was working with, taking on different roles that were challenging, and I veered off that path. The timing was right when the script found me. It felt like an extension of the work that I've been doing as opposed to this big unknown. And June was ready to make the film. She had energy and was committed to doing it. Did this story speak specifically to you because of your family experience? I could identify with the character's story, and, of course, I identify as Jewish. I had a very formidable grandmother who I was incredibly close with. She lives inside me and I think of her very often. She was, you know, a character and not unlike Eleanor. She could be kind of impossible. [ Laughs. ] How did it start to come together for you as a movie? I look at New York in a cinematic way. I've spent so much time strolling around as one does and just spending time observing. I'm a people watcher; it's one of my great pleasures. And when I read a script, I can see it as a film in my mind. I already had ideas, so it was more about having a dialogue with the cinematographer where we could have a conversation and get to the same conclusion. I knew I wanted beautiful portraits of June, to show her in this very pure way. The actors were so committed and had such dramatic stamina. I just needed to photograph them in a way that was uncomplicated. When you were younger, at one point did you realise, 'Oh, women make movies too'? It was fortunately a given because I worked with so many female directors when I was a kid. So, I guess I just never really thought about it as this gendered thing. Maybe I'm spoiled in a way or I take it for granted because I did work with so many female directors and continue to. Actually, the other day, I was reading an interview with Natalie Portman, and she grew up in film working with female directors. It was kind of the same thing for her. Maybe we both got lucky that when we started working, there was more opportunity for female directors. It's kind of balanced out in that way. Um, I don't know if it's totally balanced. [ Laughs. ] Do you want to keep directing? I do. It felt very fulfilling. We had such an amazing shooting experience. The feeling on set was so familial and creative and positive. It was really, really joyful. You don't always have a joyful experience on every movie that you make, but as I've gotten older, I have a lesser tolerance for the unpleasant experience. [ Laughs. ] As an industry veteran, do you feel optimistic about American movies? I think it'll balance itself out, and some of the players will change. It's just going to take a lot of time. The strike was really damaging, I think, more damaging than Covid; that has proved very, very challenging. There'll be a lot of big movies this summer, and I think even smaller movies like this film, when you see it in the theatre, it's amazing because everybody's crying and together. When you can see something moving with an audience, you're kind of buzzing afterward. I think it's about offering variety and studios that are committed to the theatrical experience. I think that we can climb our way back up — I think so.