Golden Globes and BAFTA just shut Amanda Seyfried out of the acting race — here’s why

There’s something a bit surreal happening in the awards circuit right now, and it revolves around Amanda Seyfried, You Can See Everything, and that old favourite, blurred lines between genres. Yes, Seyfried, who played Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout, is once again channelling Holmes—but this time in Nathan Fielder’s documentary You Can See Everything. The twist? Her performance is in a documentary, albeit a pretty unconventional one, and that’s ruffling a few feathers about whether you can slap an acting trophy on it or not. If you thought documentaries were solely about talking heads and archival footage, Fielder’s upended that assumption in typically oddball style.

Awards Committees Make Up Their Minds

Let’s dig into the eligibility headache. Nathan Fielder’s film drops Seyfried in for reenactments of scenes that obviously couldn’t be captured first-hand—so, proper acting, but inside a project labelled as non-fiction. To make it murkier, the big awards bodies don’t agree on whether Seyfried even belongs in the running for a traditional acting gong.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Critics Choice Awards said yes, she can compete in best supporting actress. But both the Golden Globes and BAFTA have told her to jog on; so have the Actor Awards. As for Fielder’s backers A24, they could technically try to appeal those decisions, but apparently they can’t be bothered—too busy, it seems, prepping for potential Oscar consideration instead.

Critics Choice is the only major awards body to deem Amanda Seyfried eligible for best supporting actress, while Golden Globes, BAFTA, and Actor Awards have shut that down.

It’s still not clear how the Oscars will play it; we’ll have to wait until December for the Academy to let us know for certain. No one’s expecting a “No” just yet, but if they do slam the door, it might make awards season that little bit more spicy than usual.

Seyfried’s Take: Genre-Blurring and Campaigning

Seyfried’s not oblivious—the film’s a challenge for anyone armed with a spreadsheet and category definitions. She told THR that, for her, acting’s acting, no matter how you dress it up:

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Seyfried said, 'Yeah, I do. The reenactments were definitely a challenge. But it’s not like I ever considered that I would be up for any kind of accolade. I understand the politics and the luck and the timing of awards stuff. I don’t really know if we can fully consider it a doc—it’s very genre-bending. I have seen a lot of documentaries, but not enough to know if they’ve ever done anything like this. I know people have said they have never seen anything like it... A campaign is a lot. It’s time-consuming. It takes all your energy. And I’m totally willing to do it. A24 is great. They’re excited, and I’m very proud of the film, so I’m fully ready to engage in that. And I love these filmmakers! I had a great time with this tiny crew. And I think because [the experience] is so rare, and it will never happen again, I’m doubled-down on it... And so now that they’re going to let me loose and show up, I’m down!'

In short: she’s well up for campaigning if any door opens, her heart’s in it, and it’s a project she properly rates. Whether the Academy gives her the chance is the real unknown here.

Critical Reception

There’s at least one person who’s already sold on Fielder’s film—our own Chris Bumbray went all in with his review, calling You Can See Everything not just impressive, but potentially transformative for the documentary scene. He reckons it could be one of the most-discussed films this year (not exactly a quiet year for documentaries either), and that it offers something fresh even for worn-out Holmes-watchers. The fact that films like these are blurring lines so enthusiastically is worth noting—if nothing else, it keeps the awards season from collecting dust.