Amanda Seyfried recalls stressful moment from 'The Testament of Ann Lee' set

Amanda Seyfried has opened up about the challenges she faced while filming The Testament of Ann Lee.

In an interview with Variety, the Means Girls actress candidly discussed the signing for the historical drama movie calling it 'stressful' and 'hard.'

"Some of it was un-singing. There’s no such thing! De-singing? Anti-singing? A lot of it was animal sounds as opposed to melodic sounds,” she said.

"And it was less about listening to myself. In the studio in Budapest, I was hearing myself, but it was not happy-making - it was stressful, because I understood that I didn’t have to sound beautiful in a way that is beautiful to me,” Seyfried continued.

Admitting that recording songs for the movie were also tough for her, the Mamma Mia actress told the outlet, "It was more like a woman on her knees. And it was f****** hard."

“We did the birthing song Human Treasures so many times because I had to release my s***, 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 explained.

For those unversed, the movie revolves around Ann Lee’s transformation from a grieving mother to a spiritual leader and explores the complex circumstances of her life.

Referring to her on-screen character, she told the outlet, "I was listening to myself the whole time and hated it. [My Les Miserables character] Cosette was full of self-loathing because that was Amanda’s self-loathing, which is not the character of Cosette!"

"But I do remember Mona just laying on the floor with me and my dog in the studio in Budapest while I was singing and trying to get closer to Ann Lee’s grief!" the 39-year-old actress concluded.

The Testament of Ann Lee is scheduled for its world premiere at Venice international film festival on September 1, 2025.