After 12 years, three standalone movies and a holiday special, Amanda Seyfried appears to have no regrets turning down a Guardians of the Galaxy lead role.
The Oscar nominee explained that the MCU role of Gamora was “just not for me,” noting she made the decision “for my family” to not take on the character, which was ultimately played by Zoe Saldaña.
“I think turning down Guardians of the Galaxy was just so obvious to me at the time,” she explained in a Q&A with SAG-AFTRA Foundation. “I’m like, ‘This is not going to be a hit. The tree and the raccoon are talking to each other. And also they’re all in space.’ And I was just like, ‘This will ruin my career if this is bad. And there’s a high chance that this could be bad.’”
Seyfried continued, “I mean, obviously I was wrong. But I still don’t take back that decision. I made it for myself. I made it for my family that I knew I wanted to have. And I just don’t want to spend all the time in the makeup trailer. I just can’t sit still anyway. I really don’t like stunts, and I don’t like heights, and I don’t like pretending the entire world. I need something to hold on to.”
Starring opposite Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord, Saldaña starred as the green-skinned alien assassin in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), as well as 2022’s The Guardian of the Galaxy Holiday Special. She also played the character in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
