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soap operas
and in films
such as Mean
Girls. But her
breakthrough
came in 2006,
when she
appeared
as Sarah
Henrickson
on the HBO hit
Big Love. The
show earned
immediate attention and
critical accolades, and by
2008 she’d been cast to star
opposite Meryl Streep in
the big-screen adaptation
of Mamma Mia!
Although it was recently
announced that Big Love’s
current season would be
Seyfried’s last as a full-
time cast member, she
acknowledges the show as
the launchpad of her career.
“I’ve always been grateful
for being a part of it,” she says. “I’m still
planning on going back to Big Love next
year, just not every episode.”
Now Seyfried is making the di;cult
transition to more grown-up roles,
including February’s Dear John (the tear-
jerker that knocked Avatar out of the
No. 1 slot at the box o;ce) and her latest
romantic drama, Letters to Juliet .
“It’s great going from playing naive
young girls who are coming of age to
grown women who are a little damaged,”
she says. “It’d be great to play an antagonist role, where the audience really hates
you. I’d also like to do a period drama set
in a time that I don’t really understand.
The goal for me is to keep doing di;erent
kinds of roles, and the fact that I’m getting those opportunities is amazing!”
—BRET LOVE
Civic Theatre
527 N. 19th St.; 610-432-
8943 • “I love the Civic
Theatre because I grew
up going to studio classes
there,” she says of the pro-
fessionally directed com-
munity theater in Lehigh
Valley. “That’s truly where
my love for acting originally
flourished.”
Why I Love ...
Allentown, Pa.
TAKE A THRILL RIDE
Dorney Park &
Wildwater Kingdom
3830 Dorney Park Road;
610-395-3724 • “I have
great memories of going
to Dorney Park when I was
growing up,” she recalls of
the theme park, home of the
87-year-old Thunderhawk
roller coaster. “I was a
season pass holder for four
years, so that was my whole
adolescent existence!”
Amanda Seyfried may star in hit
movies and sing with Meryl Streep,
but the rising young actress got
her start in Lehigh Valley
After meeting Amanda Seyfried, it’s almost
di;cult to believe that the Allentown, Pa.,
native is just 24 years old. The wide-eyed,
fair-skinned blonde certainly looks youthful, but she carries herself with a mature
composure that belies her age.
Perhaps that’s because the rising
Hollywood star has been in front of the
camera for more than half her life. Growing up in Lehigh Valley, the daughter of
an occupational therapist mother and a
pharmacist father, Seyfried began modeling at age 11 with Allentown’s Image
International agency, then graduated to
Bethlehem’s Pro Model.
“I was skinny and had braces, so I never
felt pretty,” she says, “but it was fun and
I got cool paychecks.”
Seyfried eventually made the transi-
tion to acting, taking supporting roles on
GO
FOR A JOG
Trexler Park
153–199 Springhouse
Road; 610-437-7628 •
“I still go back to Trexler
Park every time I’m home
and run,” Seyfried says.
“It’s so beautiful, but it feels
a little smaller every time
I go back because I live in
such big cities now.”
