Amanda Seyfried on Iconic Role She Auditioned for Six Times and Lost

There was a role that Amanda Seyfried wanted so badly she auditioned for it a whopping six times.

Last week, on Backstage’s In the Envelope podcast, the 39-year-old Mamma Mia star revealed she tried out for the part of Elphaba in Wicked on multiple occasions.

‘I’m in that privileged spot where I just don’t have to [audition],’ she said, ‘But I like, of course, I talked about this a lot. I auditioned like six times for Wicked.’

‘Because that had to be really just right,’ the Mean Girls star said. ‘And I like, I loved it.’

Amanda also talked about her Wicked audition in March during an episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

‘I was able to really prepare, and I’m telling you, I’ve never felt that solid in my voice than I did at the auditions,’ she said.

There was a role that Amanda Seyfried wanted so badly she auditioned for it a whopping six times. Seen here March 10. 2025

Last week, on Backstage’s In the Envelope podcast, the 39-year-old Mamma Mia star revealed she auditioned for Wicked six times

‘And that’s kind of what I got out of it,’ Seyfried told host Josh Horowitz.

‘I do, again, think everything happens for a reason,’ she continued, adding, ‘I also got to sing with Cynthia, and that was a moment in itself.’

In November, Cynthia did a joint interview with The New York Times, where she said it was ‘no surprise whatsoever’ to her when she learned Ariana Grande, 31, had gotten the role of Glinda.

‘I said [at the time], “Thank God,”‘ Ariana recalled, with Cynthia adding: ‘Thank goodness, because it was not the two ladies that I was auditioning with.’

While Cynthia did not name who else she’d auditioned with, Seyfried did reveal in 2022 that she had tried out for the part of Glinda, but didn’t specify if she auditioned alongside Cynthia.

She auditioned at the same time she was filming The Dropout, in which she played disgraced scientist Elizabeth Holmes and won and Emmy for her role.

Amanda has made peace with the fact that she wasn’t cast as Glinda. She even lavished praise on Ariana for her performance.

‘I do, again, think everything happens for a reason,’ she said.

‘I’m in that privileged spot where I just don’t have to [audition],’ she said, ‘But I like, of course, I talked about this a lot. I auditioned like six times for Wicked.’ Seen here April 11. 2025

‘Because that had to be really just right,’ the Mean Girls star said. ‘And I like, I loved it’

Amanda also talked about her Wicked audition in March during an episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast. Seen here May 2, 2025

‘I was able to really prepare, and I’m telling you, I’ve never felt that solid in my voice than I did at the auditions,’ she said. Seen here April 1, 2025

Amanda passed on another famous role, that of Gamora in the blockbuster film Guardians Of The Galaxy, opposite Chris Pratt, more than a decade ago.

While promoting her new Peacock series Long Bright River, the actress dished about the many opportunities she been blessed to have had over her career.

And when it came to the topic of ones that almost happened, Seyfried got honest about the opportunity that came along with starring on the original 2014 superhero film, directed by James Gunn, based on the Marvel Comics.

She admitted to feeling it was a risk at the time the role was offered to her, during the same interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast on March 20.

‘Being a part of the first Marvel movie that bombs ain’t good for your career,’ she shared with host Josh Horowitz.

I thought that because this was about a talking tree and a talking raccoon that it was gonna be Marvel’s first bomb and that Chris Pratt and I would never work again. I was wrong.’

The Allentown, Pennsylvania native never considered the possible role of Gamora, which ultimately was played by Zoe Saldaña, a risk due to the work of Gunn, who co-wrote the screenplay along with helming the project.

‘I do, again, think everything happens for a reason,’ she continued, adding, ‘I also got to sing with Cynthia, and that was a moment in itself.’ Seen here March 10, 2025

‘[He’s] a genius and he’s fun and he’s a wonderful filmmaker, and he can make anything work,’ she said of the filmmaker. ‘

But I was way too scared. I was at a precarious moment in my career, and I didn’t want to suffer for the work.’

Guardians Of The Galaxy went on to become a blockbuster smash, grossing a whopping $773.4 million globally while spending a net of $195.9 million on the project.

Despite all the success of the superhero films Seyfried still stands by her decision to listen to her intuition and not take on the role.

‘I had done some green screen stuff, and it wasn’t my cup of tea, and I don’t regret any decision that I made,’ she stated. ‘I made it for myself in the moment that I made it. It was good for me then, and it’s good for me now.’