Page 90 - Allure - November 2016 USA

Now that the pickle lady has (finally)
departed, I ask Seyfried a little more about her
life up here with Finn and her
growing menagerie of animals, both living and stuffed.
The following exchange, for reasons that will become abundantly clear, is better left in her own words.
Q: Have you done a lot of work on your place?
A: “I bought the house in 2013, and then I had it redone.... I just finished renovating one of the barns for guests. I put in a bathroom and a little kitchenette, but no stove; I want people to eat meals in the house. Also, I always worry about people and how they use stoves. Which is just a controlling thing.”
Q: Is this related to OCD?
1994
Childhood photo “Oh, God. ‘Chunk-a- Tooth’: That was my name. It wasn’t just my sister who called me that; it was my father. They didn’t let me drink out of their cups because I would backwash.”
She is perfectly fine displaying vulnerability, even as a digital
recorder is running right next to her lunch plate.
A: “Yes. About the gas. You could so easily burn down something if you leave the stove on. Or the oven.”
Q: Are you medicated?
A: “Yeah. I’m on Lexapro, and I’ll never get off of it. I’ve been on it since I was 19, so 11 years. I’m on the lowest dose. I don’t see the point of getting off of it. Whether it’s placebo or not, I don’t want to risk it. And what are you fighting against? Just the stigma of using a tool? A
mental illness is a thing that people cast in a different category [from other illnesses], but I don’t think it
is. It should be taken as seriously as anything else. You don’t see the mental illness: It’s not a mass; it’s not a cyst. But it’s there. Why do you need to prove it? If you can treat it, you treat it. I had pretty bad health anxiety that came from the OCD and
world so well, but then...it’s so debilitating. You’re like, What am I doing here? No one wants to see me. Why are you taking my picture? It’s stupid, it’s irrational, and it’s not
all about me, but I make it about me because I’m insecure.”
Honesty doesn’t make her morose. Quite the contrary. Much of her happiness, at least the happiness
she expresses, seems to come from her love of nature and particularly
of animals. After a freewheeling exchange about summer pleasures like swimming, I mention that there were humpback whale sightings
off the coast of Connecticut, where
I live, and show her a picture of
one breaching. She nearly jumps out of her chair. “What? No way. That
is amazing! You are so lucky. I need to go to Connecticut. I’ve never seen a whale. I grew up swimming in aboveground pools. Maybe I’ll get
a baby pool from Target this week. Yes, I think I’ll do that.”
86
thought I had a tumor in my brain. I had an MRI, and the neurologist referred me to a psychiatrist. As I get older, the compulsive thoughts and fears have diminished a lot. Knowing that a lot of my fears are not reality- based really helps.”
In case it isn’t obvious, Seyfried doesn’t censor herself. Of course it is fashionable, and downright offensive, to claim you have OCD when you’re just a little high-strung. That is not what she is doing. She is perfectly fine displaying vulnerability, even as a digital recorder is running right next to her lunch plate. But her candor should not be misconstrued as melancholy, much less self-pity. She
is cheerful and positive even when talking about difficult subjects. When I point this out later in the interview, she explains the dichotomy between her confidence and insecurity. “It’s funny when insecurity hits you,” she says. “Sometimes I feel I know the
2014
At the While We’re Young premiere in Toronto “I’m lucky to have been a part of this movie. [But] it was abadday.Iwas emotional, and my hair made me feel [too] young. I felt inadequate. It’s not rational. It hits you at weird times.”
2014
With Mark Wahlberg on the set of Ted 2 in New York City “Mark is the most chill, hardworking person I’ve ever met. The bear’s usually not there. Sometimes it’s a stick with balls on it.”
FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS’ CREDITS, SEE CREDITS PAGE.