Amanda Seyfreid opened up on why she turned down the role of Gamora in Guardians Of The Galaxy, which was later played by Zoe Saldaña.
The actress is looking back on one of the biggest roles she turned down—and let’s just say, she fully admits she didn’t have the best foresight.
While promoting her new Peacock series Long Bright River, the actress reflected on some of the major opportunities she’s had throughout her career, including one she famously walked away from, Gamora in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Seyfried revealed that at the time, she was convinced the film would flop.
“Being a part of the first Marvel movie that bombs ain’t good for your career,” she candidly admitted to host Josh Horowitz.
Her reasoning?
The idea of a film centered around a talking tree and a wise-cracking raccoon just didn’t sound like a guaranteed success.
“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,” she confessed.
Of course, Guardians of the Galaxy went on to be a massive box office hit, and Zoe Saldaña took on the role of Gamora instead—securing her place in Marvel’s ever-expanding universe.
But Seyfried insists her decision wasn’t just about the film’s potential success. She also wasn’t thrilled about the commitment that came with playing a green-skinned alien.
“I was really scared of the idea of being stuck and painted a different color because of the amount of time that the X-Men people had been,” she explained, adding that she had worked out with the same trainer who had trained several X-Men actors.
On top of that, relocating to London for six months wasn’t exactly appealing, especially since she had another project lined up, Seth MacFarlane’s A Million Ways to Die in the West.
Still, Seyfried has nothing but respect for director James Gunn and his ability to make magic happen on screen.
“[He’s] a genius and he’s fun and he’s a wonderful filmmaker, and he can make anything work,” she said. “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.”
So, does she regret her decision? Maybe a little. But Seyfried isn’t losing sleep over it. After all, she’s had an incredible career—talking raccoon or not.
