Amanda Seyfried reveals what can ‘ruin the vibe’ while working with Meryl Streep

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Amanda Seyfried has opened up about working with Meryl Streep in the ‘Mamma Mia!’ films, revealing how the veteran actress influenced her approach to acting.

Seyfried, who played Streep’s daughter in the musical films, said the actress reminded her to stay present during their scenes.

She also explained how feeling intimidated could affect an actor’s performance when sharing the screen with Streep.

Amanda Seyfried recalls working with Meryl Streep

During a conversation with Alec Baldwin at the Hamptons International Film Festival on October 4, Seyfried reflected on her experience working alongside Streep in the 2008 film ‘Mamma Mia!’ The conversation took place ahead of the release of her new film, ‘The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd.’

Baldwin, who worked with Streep in the romantic comedy ‘It’s Complicated’, asked Seyfried whether she had been intimidated by the iconic actress before they shared the screen.

Admitting that he had been intimidated by Streep himself, Baldwin invited Seyfried to discuss her experience working with the actress.

“She’s super chill and always honest in every performance,” Seyfried said, as reported by PEOPLE. She added that Streep could make even a poorly written script feel believable through her performance.

“It’s just you could have a script written by the worst computer and she would make it make sense and feel authentic,” she explained. According to Seyfried, working with Streep leaves little room for things to go wrong, provided the other actor does not feel intimidated.

“You can’t go wrong, unless you are intimidated,” she said. “And then you can, you can totally just ruin the vibe.”

The two actresses appeared alongside a star-studded cast in ‘Mamma Mia!’, which also featured Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters and Dominic Cooper. 

Amanda Seyfried shares hopes for ‘Mamma Mia 3’

Although Streep’s character, Donna, had died between the events of the two films, the actress made a brief appearance as a ghost at the end of ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’.

With the cast and producers considering a third installment, there has been discussion about bringing Streep back.

In February, Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley said there would be a ‘Mamma Mia 3’ and that the team would “find a way to bring her back.”

Streep has also expressed interest in returning. Speaking to Vogue in 2023, she said, “I’m up for anything,” adding that she would need to schedule a knee scoping before filming but would participate if an idea excited her.

“I told Judy if she could figure out a way to reincarnate Donna, I’m into that,” Streep said, suggesting that Donna could return through reincarnation or a storyline involving a twin sister. She jokingly suggested that the film might have to be called ‘Grand-Mamma Mia!’ by the time it was made.

Seyfried has similarly campaigned for a third film, saying she would “keep campaigning for that movie until I’m blue in the face.”

During an appearance on ‘The Graham Norton Show’ in February, she admitted she would be upset if the film were made without her reprising her role as Sophie.

“If I don’t get it. I really want to be in it, but I don’t know much else about it,” Seyfried said.

In December, she also shared her hopes of exploring Sophie’s life as a mother in the potential sequel. “I love playing a mother, and I would love to dive into the curiosities of motherhood and raising children on a Greek island, just like Donna did with Sophie,” she told PEOPLE.