Amanda Seyfried Explains Why Oscars Don’t Define Her Success

Amanda Seyfried has never been one to chase after golden statuettes. As 2025 drew to a close, she found herself at the centre of attention: The Housemaid, her latest film, was a runaway hit at the box office, and her performance in The Testament of Ann Lee landed her a Golden Globe nod. Whispers of an Oscar nomination for Best Actress have followed, but Seyfried’s attitude towards such accolades remains refreshingly unbothered. She was previously up for Best Supporting Actress for Mank in 2021, but the prospect of finally winning doesn’t seem to keep her up at night.

In a recent interview, Seyfried remarked that she’s “already gotten so far without an Oscar” and questioned the need for one at this stage. “Why would I need one now?” she mused, before adding, “Do you remember who won in the past ten years? It’s not the win that’s important. It’s the nomination.” For the record, Brie Larson took home Best Actress for Room a decade ago. Seyfried went on to say that, while a nomination would be lovely, it’s hardly essential. Her focus, she insists, is on the choices she makes, not the trophies she collects. As she put it:

“It does thrust you forward. That’s a fact. Now, do I need one in a week or two or whenever? No, of course, I don’t. Would it be great? Of course it would, for every reason. But it isn’t necessary. Longevity in an actor’s career is designed. Longevity is about deliberate choices to make art among the big commercial things that are fun and pay.”

When Awards Don’t Guarantee a Smoother Path

Seyfried’s comments come on the heels of Melissa Leo’s rather candid admission that winning Best Supporting Actress for The Fighter “has not been good for me or my career. I didn’t dream of it, I never wanted it, and I had a much better career before I won.” Not every Oscar winner finds doors flung open. Mikey Madison, last year’s Best Actress, may have enjoyed a flurry of offers, but Lupita Nyong’o, who won for 12 Years a Slave in 2013, revealed she was mostly approached for roles about enslaved people in the months following her win, rather than the leading parts she might have hoped for.

For Seyfried, the measure of a career isn’t found in a trophy cabinet. She’s been part of films that have become cult favourites—Mean Girls, Jennifer’s Body, Mamma Mia—none of which were showered with Academy recognition, yet all have left a mark on audiences. She’s had her share of missteps, too, passing on the role of Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy and appearing in a few box office duds. She’s the first to admit it:

"We all have ebbs and flows in our careers, and how we’re perceived can change from day to day, but I’m consistent in my choices and I’m consistent in my values and my needs. I’m also sitting pretty right now, because ‘The Housemaid’ made money. That’s not always the case. Sometimes you’re in ‘Mamma Mia!’ Sometimes, you do something like ‘Ted 2,’ or ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West,’ which were both supposed to do big box-office, and underperformed."

Box Office Triumphs and Looking Ahead

Whether or not Seyfried’s name appears on the Best Actress shortlist for The Testament of Ann Lee, she seems content with the commercial success of The Housemaid. The thriller, which also stars Sydney Sweeney, has raked in $108 million domestically and $245 million worldwide, all on a $35 million budget. Not a bad return by any measure.

Next up, Seyfried is set to appear in The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd, directed by Tim Blake Nelson and featuring a cast that includes Scoot McNairy, Missi Pyle, William Jackson Harper, and Sinners Wunmi Mosaku. Whatever the future holds, it’s clear she’s charting her own course—awards or no awards.