Plus, how Seyfried and director Paul Feig worked behind the scenes to throw off costar Sydney Sweeney.

Amanda Seyfried reveals how she pulled off The Housemaid’s wild twists and her ‘bats---’ character

Plus, how Seyfried and director Paul Feig worked behind the scenes to throw off costar Sydney Sweeney.

By Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff is an award-winning journalist and staff writer at ** with over 12 years of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry.

EW's editorial guidelines

December 20, 2025 9:00 a.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Amanda Seyfried in 'The Housemaid'. Credit:

**This article contains spoilers for *The Housemaid*.**

Amanda Seyfried absolutely relished her role as Nina in *The Housemaid* — and it's completely obvious onscreen.

In the film, which is based on the Freida McFadden novel of the same name, Nina is a wealthy wife and mother who hires Millie (Sydney Sweeney), a young woman looking for a fresh start, to be a live-in housemaid. What starts out as a dream gig in a beautiful house rapidly becomes a nightmare, as Nina goes from oddly demanding to downright unglued, making Millie question her own safety.

As such, the role allowed Seyfried to tackle playing someone who may or may not be completely "bats---," as she describes it. But, as fans of the book know and viewers of the film eventually learn, Nina's behavior is all a means to an end.

Turns out, Millie *was* in danger all along, but not from Nina. A very much sane Nina knew about Millie's past (she killed a guy who was attempting to rape one of her classmates), and hired her in the secret hope she'd fall for Andrew (Brandon Sklenar) — revealed to be a sadistic abuser — and then eventually kill him, too, all the while allowing Nina and her daughter to escape his torture.

Sydney Sweeney as Millie and Amanda Seyfried as Nina in 'The Housemaid'.

Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate

All of this meant sort of an *Inception* of performances was required, a role within a role, if you will. "That was the sticking point for me in the beginning," Seyfried says. "I realized, Nina, there's *a lot *going on with her — more than we're supposed to know in the beginning. And so I kind of have to display it as realistic as possible."

To do this, Seyfried explains that she approached the character as someone who "believes what she believes in the moment, even though what she's doing conflicts with what she did in the scene prior."

She adds, "It doesn't matter, because the best way to play somebody who's unpredictable or performing inside of my own performance, you can't really even think about the levels of performance or the levels of manipulation, you can only really play what's happening at that time. And if you believe what your character is supposed to be doing, if you make the characters seem like she believes, then the performance inside the performance will make sense as well. Nina, we discover, is an *incredible* actress."

Sydney Sweeney finally opens up about backlash over controversial American Eagle campaign: 'I'm against hate'

Sydney Sweeney catches Amanda Seyfried in a major lie in 'The Housemaid' sneak peek (exclusive)

She's so good in fact that, prior to the big third-act twist, the audience might find themselves wondering whether they should be laughing or not at her wild antics. Which was exactly the intended (albeit uncomfortable) effect. "It's fun and it really, really actually creates space for laughter in the beginning, the first half of the movie," Seyfried says. "And I'm really proud of those moments because Paul [Feig, the director] really knew how to utilize that space between Syd and me. And it completely pays off when you watch the movie."

Speaking of, Seyfried admits that she and Feig spent a lot of time on set improvising ways to use Nina's unpredictability to completely surprise Sweeney. "It was like a ton of anything goes," Seyfried recalls. "Paul and I would just play around as much as we wanted. We had a lot of time to do so, and we'd make each other laugh with new ideas. And every time Paul would come in with a new note to switch things up, it was a surprise for Syd, because Nina is so nuts and so unpredictable that I could surprise her and throw her off."

Sydney Sweeney as Millie Calloway in 'The Housemaid'.

Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate

She adds, "And that was so delightful for both of us. When you're working in a scene, you do things over and over and over again, and if you have a chance to surprise the other actor, you run with it. We had a lot of those moments that we just *delighted* in."

For her part, Sweeney, who says she grew up as "a huge fan of Amanda's" to the point she "memorized *Mamma Mia!,*" admits it was "a dream" to experience all of this up close and personal.

"Getting to see her play such an unhinged character was such a treat, because usually I'm playing the unhinged character," she says, laughing. "I always looked at Millie as the eyes of the audience. And so as the audience is learning things, Millie is learning as well, which is very different for me because usually I'm the one losing it. And so it was so fun being able to watch an actor just come to life and just bring it every single time, doing something different every single time. She completely killed it and she blew me away. It was so fun."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

*The Housemaid*, which also stars Michele Morrone, Elizabeth Perkins, Indiana Elle, and more, is now playing in theaters.

- Movie Reviews & Recommendations

- Thriller & Mystery Movies

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Thriller”