The Hollywood problem Amanda Seyfried ran into after ‘Mean Girls’

Mean Girls continues to be a huge part of our lives (duh), just like it does for one of its stars, Amanda Seyfried. She played Karen, the dumb blonde of the Plastics who could usually predict the weather, because she had ESPN or something. We’ve loved Karen and Seyfried for ten years now. But recently, Seyfried opened up about the trouble Karen caused her after Mean Girls was done.

Though Seyfried has gone on to star in movies like Mamma Mia (where she sang) and Les Misérables (more singing), and most recently, Ted 2, following Mean Girls, she felt like she was stuck in a rut as a “dumb blond.”

“I was totally pigeonholed as the dumb blonde after Mean Girls,” she explained, meaning she found it hard to find roles for her that didn’t just want her to play Karen over and over again, forever and ever. This is, sadly, a common thing in Hollywood, especially for young actresses. They play an iconic or well-loved role, and suddenly that’s the only way they’re perceived for all future roles. It took a lot of work, and a few years, for Seyfried to break that pattern, explaining that everything is “different” now, and she’s finally receiving the roles that don’t require her to wear pink on Wednesdays.

But, even though it took some work to break away from Karen, she wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“Mean Girls was amazing for me, it gave me so much. I was 18, I had no clue what to do with my life; it was either Mean Girls or college, so it gave me direction.”

We’re so happy she was able to shake that “dumb blonde” thing, becasue Seyfried is so much more than that. She’s once again going to show us her acting chops in the upcoming Pan, and the super intense Fathers and Daughters, which will probably make us cry.

But we’re still always going to love Karen, too.

(Image via Paramount Pictures and Giphy)