Where this was said
Doubt, Meryl Streep & Amy's Acting Education
At 39:10 · chapter starts 38:30
Sean pivots to Doubt, calling it one of his favorite films and asking Amy how great she found it to be on that set. She reflects that it was transformative: since she never attended college or a conservatory, watching Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman work through rehearsals was, in her words, 'my entire actor training.' Jason notes that everyone must have been off-book at that stage. Amy confirms, adding — with a tone of obvious reverence — 'it's Meryl.' Sean then delivers a perceptive compliment: Amy's on-camera subtlety is remarkable precisely because so many theater-trained actors tend to play bigger on screen. She found the discipline to scale down without losing the interiority. Amy attributes this partly to working with an acting coach after moving to LA, who helped ground her. She says she's always been drawn to a character's inner life — she'd be thrilled if she could know what everyone was thinking at all times.
Amy Adams never attended drama school or conservatory. She considers the Doubt rehearsals with Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman her entire actor training — a private masterclass she stumbled into.
Amy Adams said that watching Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman rehearse Doubt effectively served as her entire actor training, since she never attended drama school.
