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