“That’s just life,” Amy Adams says of the time she spends off red carpets and film sets. It’s what she speaks most passionately about: making runs to the grocery store, braiding her kid’s hair. She even gets a bit misty-eyed while doing so (her daughter turned 16 the day after this interview; feelings were fresh).
Audiences count on Adams to crystallize such moments, whether they are grand or minute. Year after year, the actor has slipped into roles that complicate the lives of women as they age, as in 2024’s Nightbitch, where her stay-at-home mom takes a turn for the surreal. Her latest, Apple TV’s Cape Fear, finds her opposite Patrick Wilson as an attorney couple whose lives are turned upside down by a killer client (Javier Bardem) freshly out of prison.
“I’ve loved getting older. I embrace it,” Adams, now 51, tells Amanda Seyfried (herself newly 40) when they hop on the phone for this conversation. As booked as the actors both are, the pair’s chat focuses less on their upcoming film and TV slates than on the imperatives of family life and the decision to opt out of hours in the makeup trailer in favor of imperfect skin on camera. Neither is particularly concerned about hiding their flaws—in fact, they are eager to discuss them.
Amanda Seyfried: The first time I saw you, you were in braces in Catch Me If You Can. I was like, Who’s this woman—this kid—who gets to do what I want to do? Be with Leo [DiCaprio, the film’s star. Both laugh]. Do you ever have less makeup—or less of a look—just because you don’t want to be in the hair and makeup trailer?
Amy Adams: I’m ashamed to admit it, but yeah. I’m less vain than I am tired. People know what I look like at this point. I don’t need to be pretty. I can just be me.
Seyfried: We both gravitate toward roles that are real people. We were the ingénues at one point, but our characters are more complex and more interesting now. If someone were like, “You have to do one of the movies that you’ve already done again,” which one would you choose?
Adams: Arrival. I want to work with Denis [Villeneuve] again. He was so empowering; it was a pivotal moment for me as somebody coming into my agency. My daughter would come to set and they let her sit in the corner as long as she stayed quiet.
Seyfried: Family. I love that you went straight to that.
Adams: Every job I take, we have a family meeting. There are some projects I can’t even consider because I can’t go to Australia for six months. Well, not now. My daughter’s turning 16. She got her braces off yesterday. [Adams tears up.] I’m so fragile about it. I should be more together.
Seyfried: I don’t think so. It’s the craziest thing that we will ever do on Earth: become mothers.
Adams: I talk with my daughter about it now, and it’s interesting to hear her perspective. She says, “I don’t remember you not being around. It always felt like you were there.”
“I’m less vain than I am tired. People know what I look like at this point. I don’t need to be pretty.” —Amy Adams
Seyfried: Well, you did it then. I live full-time on a farm. We have eight goats. They get acupuncture now. It’s exhausting because I feel guilty when I’m gone, so on the weekends, I’ll be like, “I got the feed.” I love being a local and I also feel like I have a lot of privacy, too.
Adams: I go to the grocery store. It’s just life. I’ve loved getting older. I embrace it.
Seyfried: I agree. I’m gonna start taking care of myself. That full MRI body scan? I paid for it myself.
Adams: Let me know how you like it.
Seyfried: I’ll send you my results. About the aging thing, I’m definitely happier and more fulfilled. I feel like aging is a real privilege.
Adams: [After this,] I’m doing a craft thing for my daughter’s birthday. It’s a big signage thing, pictures of her 16 years. I still have to finish it today. My husband calls me the Tasmanian devil because you can see everywhere I’ve been. He’ll walk into the bathroom and be like, “Somebody melted in front of the shower,” because of my clothes [on the floor]. Today, I’m not picking my clothes up because I’m cutting out circles.
Seyfried: I just finished crocheting a tank top for Rachel Zegler for her [Octet] wrap gift and I already showed it to her. Then Sheryl Lee Ralph last night was like, “I love that,” and I was like, “Would you wear one? I have one that’s three sizes too big for Rachel.” So all the girls on the show are going to be wearing the same tank top.
Adams: Oh, that’s amazing.
Seyfried: Have the best time tomorrow. You’re a great mom and you’re a great human and actor. Leave your clothes on the floor. Do that for yourself.
Photography by Daniel Jack Lyons
Styling by Petra Flannery
Hair by John D
Makeup by Stephen Sollitto
Production Design by Daniel Horowitz
Production by Alexey Galetskiy
Photography Assistance by Kevin Faulkner and Sean Costello
Styling Assistance by Gabby Rico and Meehan O’Neill
Production Design Assistance by Veronica Franzen
Production Studio Assistance by Justin Barahona
Production Assistance by Christian Flippo
Order the Indulgence issue here.
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