Amanda Seyfried is returning to the screen in a way audiences haven’t seen before. In The Testament of Ann Lee, which premiered in Competition on Monday, the actress steps into the role of Ann Lee, the 18th-century founder of the Shakers.
The film has been called both a musical and a biopic, though Seyfried herself admits it’s neither in the traditional sense.
“It’s a celebration. It’s an experience. It’s unlike anything, so it is hard to describe for me as somebody who’s not very good at describing things. But it felt very brave, and it felt very scary. But once we were shooting that lifted,” she said in an interview with Variety.
What makes this role especially unique is Seyfried’s return to singing on screen for the first time since Mamma Mia 2.
Yet, she hesitates to call it singing at all.
“De-singing? Anti-singing?” she joked, explaining that much of the vocal work in the film came from raw emotion rather than melody.
“A lot of it was animal sounds as opposed to melodic sounds. And it was less about listening to myself… it was more like a woman on her knees. And it was fucking hard.”
One of the most challenging moments came during the birthing song, Human Treasures. Seyfried admitted it took multiple attempts to capture the right tone.
“We did the birthing song Human Treasures so many times because I had to release my shit, my ear, my needs, Amanda’s needs, in order to find the voice that held the passion, the rawness, the grief and the desperation.”
She reflected on how difficult it was to stop analyzing herself in the process, noting, “I realized it takes a long time for me to stop listening to myself when I’m singing.”
Despite the difficulties, Seyfried says she ultimately found joy in the experience.
“I did. I love singing. And I love the way it makes me feel when I’m acting,” she shared, recalling the process of working on the two main songs in Budapest before filming began.
She described moments of support from director Mona Fastvold, who would even lie on the studio floor with Seyfried and her dog Finn to help her connect with Ann Lee’s grief.
For Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee became more than just another role, it was a brave experiment in breaking down her own barriers and embracing imperfection in the pursuit of truth on screen.
