Allentown's Amanda Seyfried receiving early Oscar buzz for role in 'Mank'

ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Actress and Allentown, Pennsylvania native Amanda Seyfried has been in the entertainment industry for more than 20 years. She's now stepping into her latest drama, a film that's already getting Oscar buzz.

Seyfried started her career starring in soap operas and has since been in more than 60 movies and TV series, including fan favorites like Tina Fey's "Mean Girls" and the musical film "Mamma Mia."

Her latest role in "Mank," alongside Gary Oldman, already has Hollywood paying attention.

"It's a fantastic piece of art," Seyfried says. "The fact that I could walk into this movie knowing that it was going to be amazing just gave me so much freedom and so much confidence to just work on what I needed to work on. It's such a wonderful feeling."

"Mank" is the story of Wilkes-Barre native, and master screenwriter, Herman Mankiewicz, played by Gary Oldman. It follows his journey penning "Citizen Kane."

Seyfried plays actress Marion Davies, the mistress of William Randolph Hearst, who bankrolled her films in the 20s and 30s.

Seyfried is now a mother of two living with her family on a farm in the Catskills in upstate New York. She says growing up in Allentown shaped her as a person and as an actress.

"I came from a place and a family that really supported anything that I wanted to do," Seyfried says. "I just knew what I wanted to do. Nobody in Allentown ever made me feel like it wasn't possible."

Seyfried says she always sets her expectations low, so this acclaim is a pleasant surprise. Mank is streaming now on Netflix.