ALLENTOWN’S SEYFRIED STARS IN A LOVE LETTER TO DOGS
‘Art of Racing in the Rain’ features world’s wisest canine
Given her love of all creatures great and small, it was only a matter of time before Allentown’s Amanda Seyfried found herself starring in a movie celebrating the world’s wisest dog.
As fans of Garth Stein’s 2008 best-seller know, “The Art of Racing In the Rain” is a valentine to pooches everywhere. The movie, due in theaters Aug. 9, tells the story of the trials and tribulations of an American family, including aspiring race car driver Denny (Milo Ventimiglia) and his wife, Eve (Seyfried) through the eyes of their reflective Golden Retriever, Enzo (voiced by Kevin Costner).
Already a huge fan of the novel, Seyfried didn’t need to read the script when she was approached about co-starring in the Simon Curtis-directed feature. “I love the book so much and I wanted to work with Simon and Milo,” says the actress over the telephone from Los Angeles. “I didn’t do a lot of thinking about this one. It was a slam dunk for me.”
In real life, Seyfried is often photographed with her beloved Australian Shepherd, Finn. She’s not only made the dog something of a social media star — he has his own Twitter and Instagram followers — but she brings him along to movie sets, and included him on a “Late Night With David Letterman” appearance a few years ago.
Thanks to Finn, Seyfried has become a
staunch advocate for animal rights. She’s consistently used her status as a public figure to help raise awareness for animal welfare, primarily through the Best Friends Animal Society.
“I do so little, but I’ve been around [the organization] long enough to see the outcome of all of their hard work,” says the actress, 33. “I’ve seen them in action, and at this point, Los Angeles is almost [free] of kill shelters.
“When I started this movie, I told Fox [the film’s distributors] that they should partner with Best Friends Animal Society and they did. It’s been so great to be able to be an advocate for adopting rescue [pets].”
Seyfried wasn’t always a dog owner. Growing up in Allentown, she spent her childhood surrounded by the family’s cats, including the now-ancient
Spliff, who gained notoriety for running from the room every time Amanda began practicing songs for “Mamma Mia.”
“I always wanted a dog, but my parents were such cat people that they made it seem like a dog was this huge responsibility,” recalls the actress, a 2003 graduate of Allen High School. “They’d say that you have to walk it all the time, and it’s so much work. So I just shied away from this big, bad responsibility.”
Then, a few years later, on the set of Seyfried’s HBO series “Big Love,” the actress noticed a number of puppies in the care of a young crew member. Instantly, she was drawn to a little guy she’d eventually name Finn.
“I thought he was a tiny bear,” she says with a laugh. “But the production assistant told me he was an Australian Shepherd. I remember the first night, I took him to the vet because he was throwing up. And I got him all of these X-rays, to check him out.
“At first, I thought I was just going to foster him … And by the next morning, he was my dog. I was obsessed with him.”
Even Seyfried’s mom, Ann, wound up becoming a Finn fan. “When I told her about Finn, she saidW, ` hy did you get a dog now?’ But I have all of these pictures of her cuddling him when he was puppy. Now she loves him too.”
Since “Big Love,” Seyfried has become an A-list actor with a handful of hit movies on her resume, including “Mean Girls,” “Mamma Mia” and its sequel, “Jennifer’s Body,” “Dear John,” “Letters To Juliet,” “Gone,” “Lovelace,” “A Million Ways to Die In The West,” “Les Miserables,” “Ted 2” and “First Reformed.” Three years ago, she married her “Last Word “costar Thomas Sadoski, and together they’re raising their 2-year-old daughter.
And through it all, Finn has been Seyfried’s constant companion.
“He’s my guy,” she says. “He taught me to be calm and he gave me a level of peace I didn’t have before. He taught me how to be [comfortable] with solitude. When I’m with him, I’m not alone but I am alone … It’s one of the things I really want to instill in my daughter: the importance of being at peace with being alone. Finn did that for me.“
For a dog lover like Seyfried, one of the biggest challenges of making “Art of Racing” was not being able to endlessly cuddle the five or so dogs playing Enzo.
“The dogs have to concentrate when they’re on set but sometimes, in between takes, I could pet them,” says the actress. “The handlers are really the superheroes of this film because they make sure the dogs get their rest, and have time in their favorite crates, and receive just the right number of treats.”
In addition to appreciating the movie’s pet-positive message, Seyfried also enjoyed her human co-stars, including Ventimiglia, whom she describes as “a real gentleman, a man who is so close to his family” and Costner, whom she grew up adoring and met for the first time at the premiere.
“Kevin was one of the actors I was enamored of when I was younger,” she says. “I loveT`in Cup,’ in particular. He’s a big guy in our household. I remember how excited my mom was when she heard he was going to be in the movie.”
Over the course of “Art of Racing,” Seyfried’s character develops a serious illness. Playing a woman coping with deteriorating health provided an opportunity for the actress to confront some of her own anxieties about sickness.
“I’m always afraid of getting sick,” she says. “I have doctors everywhere. So, yes, this role triggered that anxiety in me a bit, but it was therapeutic too. I think, subconsciously, playing the role was sort of like undergoing exposure therapy, where you’re forced to confront your fears. I did that every day on the set.”
Being a mom has made Seyfried eager to become a good role model to her daughter. The actress, who is determined to demonstrate just how important it is for a woman to enjoy a fulfilling career, has been busier than ever recently, starring in the upcoming Blumhouse thriller “You Should Have Left “co-starring Kevin Bacon, and “Scoob,” a feature-length animated film about Scooby-Doo, in which she voices the role of Daphne. Both movies are due in 2020.
As she divides her time between Los Angeles, New York City and upstate New York, which is her primary residence, Seyfried is preparing for “the role of a lifetime.” While she can’t reveal the particulars of the project, the film will be a musical and re-team her with a former collaborator.
“It’s taken over my life,” she says. “I’m going for guitar and voice lessons twice a week trying to prepare. If it happens, it will be the most important movie I’ve ever done.”
Whether she’s starring in a tearjerker like “Art of Racing,” comedies like “Mean Girls,” musicals like “Mamma Mia” or thrillers like “You Should Have Left,” Seyfried cherishes her ability to make people experience a wealth of emotions.
“I really like that inA[` rt of Racing’], I play the catalyst for making the audience feel really [sad],” she says. “When you laugh and cry, you know you’re alive, and when you’re alive, you can feel love and experience kindness.
“I love making comedies, but I’ll take a family movie that’s about human connection any day. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to be an actor in the first place.”