Amanda Seyfried has revealed she was unaware of her executive producer credit on the hit film The Housemaid until three weeks into filming. The actress described the title as a vanity credit negotiated by her agent, emphasizing she only acted in the movie. The thriller has grossed around $375 million worldwide.
Amanda Seyfried, an Oscar nominee, discussed her involvement in Paul Feig's The Housemaid during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show. The film, an adaptation of Freida McFadden's 2022 novel, stars Sydney Sweeney as Millie, a young woman who becomes a live-in housemaid for the wealthy couple Nina Winchester (Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar), who harbor sinister secrets.
Seyfried explained that she discovered her executive producer credit unexpectedly. "I’m a producer on it," she said. "But I didn’t know until three weeks in, when I saw the call sheet, and I was like, ‘Executive producer? I didn’t sign up for that.’" She called a producer, who informed her that her agent had negotiated the credit. "And I was like, ‘This really better be a hit.’ It was one of those vanity credits, ’cause I didn’t do sh*t to make that movie. I only acted in it."
The actress distinguished her role from others who actively produce, noting, "That’s the thing about vanity credits. I don’t want people to get it twisted. What Margot [Robbie] does is really intensely developing movies from jump. I just jumped in, had a bunch of fun and left. And now, I’m like, they’re sending me on a vacation."
The Housemaid has earned approximately $374 million to $375 million worldwide on a reported $35 million budget, marking a significant success. Lionsgate is developing a sequel based on McFadden's The Housemaid’s Secret, with Sweeney and Feig returning. Seyfried expressed interest in a cameo, telling Variety’s Marc Malkin, "No one’s said anything about No. 2, but I guarantee there will be No. 2. And I almost guarantee that I’m gonna be some small cameo in it... I will jump the fuck back into that." Her character Nina does not appear in the sequel's source material, which follows Millie working for a new family.
