Amanda Seyfried has scored the biggest box office hit of her career with The Housemaid, grossing a whopping $374 million and counting worldwide, amid a reported budget of $35 million. Seyfried recently promoted the film on The Graham Norton Show and was asked about the film’s boost to her career not only as an actor but also as an executive producer. The Oscar nominee openly admitted that the latter title was a feat of pure vanity.
“I’m a producer on this film, but I didn’t find out until three weeks in,” Seyfried said. “I looked at the call sheet and thought, ‘Executive producer? I haven’t signed on to that.'” I called one of the producers and said, “Guys, please hire me as executive producer.” And he said, “That’s what your agent negotiated for you.” So I thought, “This should really be a hit.” ”
“It was a vanity thing, because I didn’t do anything to make that movie. I just appeared in it,” Seyfried added. “That’s the thing about the vanity credits. I don’t want people to get it twisted. What Margot (Robbie) does is develop the movie very intensively from the jump. I just jumped in, had a lot of fun, and left. And now I’m like they’re sending me on vacation.”
Based on the best-selling novel by Frieda McFadden, The Housemaid stars Sidney Sweeney as Millie, a young woman trying to escape her past when she is recruited to work as a live-in housekeeper in the home of wealthy Nina (Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (Brandon Skenner), who harbor a dangerous secret.
Variety reported last month that Lionsgate is currently developing a sequel with Sweeney and director Paul Feig based on the second installment of McFadden’s trilogy of novels, The Housemaid’s Secret. Rebecca Sonnenshein, the screenwriter of the first film, is returning to adapt the next book. Sweeney and McFadden will return as executive producers.
When news of The Housemaid broke, Seyfried’s name was nowhere to be found, but she told Graham Norton that she simply didn’t want anything to do with the sequel. The problem is that her character Nina is not included in the book as Sweeney’s characters go to work for their new families.
“No one has said anything about a second movie, but I guarantee you there will be a second movie,” Seyfried told Variety’s Marc Malkin before official news of the sequel was announced. “And I almost guarantee I’ll have a small cameo in this one, because it’s the story of Sid and her working for her new family. And there’s a lot going on, especially with Enzo, played by Michele. I really want to know how she’s going to keep Nina Winchester in her pocket, because I’m going to dive into it.”
Watch Seyfried’s full interview on “The Graham Norton Show” in the video below.
