Amanda Seyfried on ‘The Testament of Ann Lee' and society

Amanda Seyfried is reflecting deeply on the world around her, and her latest role is only intensifying those feelings. 

While promoting The Testament of Ann Lee, the actress admitted she’s been struggling with the state of America. 

Seyfried said that talking so much about Ann Lee, the 18th-century founder of the Shakers whom she portrays in the film, has pushed her to think about what community really means today. 

“How about we all don’t have any kind of agendas? How about our agenda is take care of each other?” she said, calling socialism “a gorgeous idea” in the sense of shared care, even if she knows the term can be misunderstood. 

For her, the concept is simple: “If I have more money, I can spend more money on other people.”

In Mona Fastvold’s drama, Seyfried steps into the role of a woman who endured devastating loss, four children, and transformed her grief into a movement centered on equality and communal life. 

The film layers trauma, faith, healing, and unexpectedly, humour. 

Before a screening at the SCAD Film Festival, she even encouraged the audience to embrace its off-beat tone, telling them, “I give you permission to laugh.”

But the connection she draws between Ann Lee’s world and the present is what weighs on her most. 

Seyfried remembers how, after 9/11, people came together in a way that felt instinctive and selfless. 

“Everybody dropped everything for each other,” she said, noting how distant that collective spirit now feels. 

“We shouldn’t have to have a meteor or a house-on-fire situation in order to drop everything for each other.”

Her reflections turned into a broader plea, one rooted in the idea that people are more alike than they admit. 

“We all want to be seen, we all want to be loved, we all want to be desired,” she said, pointing out that both sides of any divide share the same basic wants. 

That’s why she questions what anyone gains from greed, ego or defensiveness, emotions she believes are pulling people apart rather than bringing them together.

Seyfried’s performance in The Testament of Ann Lee is already being praised, but it’s clear the experience is shaping her in ways that go beyond the screen. 

Through the story of a woman who built a community from loss, Seyfried is holding up a mirror to the present, urging for something simple, a return to taking care of one another.