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Amanda Seyfried has opened up about her role in 'You Can See Everything'
Amanda Seyfried says meeting Elizabeth Holmes’ partner, Billy Evans, reinforced the negative impression she had formed while watching footage for You Can See Everything. She also admits that she was worried participating in the documentary could damage her career.
Speaking with Rolling Stone alongside co-directors Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, Oscar-nominated actress Amanda Seyfried discussed her surprise role in the film, her confrontation with Evans, and her decision to participate without creative approval over the footage.
The actress, who won an Emmy for portraying Holmes in Hulu’s hit miniseries The Dropout, appears as herself and reprises the role in reenactments for the documentary. Seyfried’s involvement began after Emma Stone — who is friends with Fielder after co-starring with him in the Showtime series The Curse — connected her with The Rehearsal star. Following a 30-minute Zoom conversation, she agreed to let the filmmakers visit her apartment, show her footage, and record their discussion.
Amanda Seyfried says her opinion of Billy Evans ‘only got worse’ after meeting him and was worried You Can See Everything would ruin her career
Seyfried explained that watching Fielder and Oppenheim’s footage of Evans made her want to meet him and ask questions herself.
“It felt dangerous. I wanted answers. We all had this need to understand who was pulling the strings,” Seyfried explained. “I became this weird Billy detective because I had gotten such strong negative feelings from him in the footage. I felt like I needed to meet this guy.”
When Oppenheim asked whether her feelings changed after meeting Evans, Seyfried answered: “Nothing changed. It only got worse. That’s very clear in the doc, I think.”
Despite those reservations, she said she tried to approach the visit with an open mind, particularly because she was entering his home with his and Holmes’ children present.
“I always want to give people the benefit of the doubt, and I felt bad that I had talked a bunch of shit about him up until that point,” she said. “Because look, I do not like him. But I’m coming into this man’s house.”
Their interaction eventually became an argument during dinner — Seyfried said she felt Evans became unnecessarily aggressive and disrespectful toward her.
“There was no reason for him to get that aggressive. That’s the word I’m going to use, as it’s more diplomatic…. I don’t like the way he’s using this human being, his wife—the person he says he’s ‘building monuments of love’ to—as a tool. Maybe he does respect her, but he’s behaving like he does not respect her.”
At that stage, however, she had not agreed to play Holmes again. Seyfried said she participated in that initial filming before involving her representatives and that her lawyer subsequently had to negotiate an agreement retroactively.
When the project expanded to include reenactments, Fielder said they did not give Seyfried scripts in advance. Instead, they discussed the scenes on camera, and those conversations could have become part of the documentary. She also had no approval over the footage.
“There was always this vibration of risk and that sensation of: Am I going to destroy my career in some way? Am I going to get entangled in this, like, a wasp’s nest with Billy? Am I gonna say the wrong thing? Am I gonna perpetuate negativity for her?” Seyfried said.
“Everything was scary, but I still had that drive that was more in the front seat.”
Seyfried emphasized that she agreed to participate incrementally, rather than signing up for the entire experience at once.
“I wasn’t committing to shooting a movie. I was committing to each event or moment, and those are little leaps of faith that ended up feeling bigger.”
When Fielder asked whether she regretted participating, Seyfried said she did not.
“What are you talking about? I don’t regret it at all. I’m having the time of my life right now!” she said. “I mean, I’m not going to do this again. But neither are you!”
You Can See Everything is expected to contend at next year’s Academy Awards, where it could break new ground. No documentary has ever been nominated for Best Picture, while a nomination for Seyfried would recognize an unusual blend of documentary participation and dramatic performance, revisiting the role that earned her an Emmy.
The film has also become a major box office success: with more than $80 million domestically after four weekends, it ranks as North America’s second-highest-grossing documentary.