After a long career as a reliable familiar face in genre films, Amanda Seyfried has finally become a major awards contender for her performance in David Fincher’s Hollywood period piece “Mank.” Seyfried, who got her start as one of the mean girls in 2004’s “Mean Girls,” has appeared in everything from rom-coms (“Letters to Juliet”) to musicals (“Mamma Mia!”) to cult horror films (“Jennifer’s Body”), but “Mank” is a major step-up for the actress that earned her her first Golden Globe nomination.
SEE 2021 Golden Globes nominations list: Nominees for 78th annual ceremony
In the Best Film Supporting Actress category, Seyfried competes against Glenn Close (“Hillbilly Elegy”), Olivia Colman (“The Father”), Jodie Foster (“The Mauritanian”) and Helena Zengel (“News of the World”). Close and Foster are the heavyweights in this category; Close has three wins from 15 previous nominations, while Foster has two wins from eight previous nominations and has received the Cecil B. Demille Award. Colman is no slouch either, with three wins from three nominations in the last four years, and she is double-nominated this year as she also competes on the TV side for “The Crown.” Zengel, like Seyfried, is a first-time nominee.
Seyfried portrays the similarly doe-eyed Hollywood starlet Marion Davies, mistress of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst (Charles Dance) and friend of alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman). Her performance is a mixture of strength and sadness; Seyfried’s Davies is clearly well aware of the realities of her situation, and she cares for Hearst while also knowing she is unable to escape him. In one of the film’s most captivating sequences, Davies takes a walk with Mankiewicz through Hearst’s fantastic estate, and Seyfried holds her own against veteran Oldman in his own nominated performance.
SEE 10 best Amanda Seyfried movies ranked
“Mank” is the most nominated film at the Globes, with six in total. Along with Seyfried, Oldman received a nomination for Best Drama Actor and Fincher for Best Director; the other noms are for Best Score, Best Screenplay and Best Drama Film. Fincher’s Old Hollywood drama has been a leading award’s contender practically since it was announced, so it’s no surprise to see it heavily nominated, and Seyfried is one of the best parts of the film. She faces strong competition from three actresses with nine Globe wins between them, though that may work out in her favor; Globe voters may very well feel it is Seyfried’s time to shine.
This article is a part of Gold Derby’s “Golden Globes nominee profile” series spotlighting the 2021 contenders in film and TV.
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