Amanda Seyfried started preparations for The Testament of Ann Lee a year in advance as she only had 34 days to shoot the movie

Amanda Seyfried spent a year preparing for her role in The Testament of Ann Lee.

The 40-year-old actress portrays the titular spiritual leader in Mona Fastvold's movie and explained that she started her preparation well in advance as she had just 34 days to shoot the flick.

Asked if the limited production time put pressure on her shoulders, Amanda told Collider: "It does, but with Mona Fastvold, she has a collection of the best craftsmen in their field. All the heads of departments will drop everything for her, who were also working on this for a long with me.

"We're working on this for a year prior to Budapest. We'd already done a workshop, so we shot a bunch of stuff that ends up in the movie in January, before that, in Massachusetts. So I will say yes, 34 days is ridiculous, but because we knew we didn't have that much time or money, we all, on our days off from other projects, would come together and work on certain aspects."