Q: How many times a year do you get back to Allentown?

A: Well, last year I came home a number of times. Usually it’s three times. I’m always home for Christmas.

Q: When you come home, where do you like to hang out?

A: My friend Maureen [Murphy's] house. We always watch movies at her house. Literally, when I come home all I do is watch movies at Maureen’s house. Sometimes we go to Stooges. It’s basically where everybody from my high school goes. It’s nice to reconnect with people at least once a year.

Q: Do you have a favorite store at the mall?

A: I love the Gap. But I almost never go to the mall anymore.

Q: When you look back at your years at Allen High, what moments stand out?

A: The summer between freshman and sophomore year was the best time of my life. I was dating a guy I was crazy about. It was such a beautiful summer because I was felt so alive and free.

Q: What do you miss most about Allentown?

A: I miss running around Trexler Park. I miss all of the trees and how beautiful and green it is there. I miss sitting on the summer porch in the middle of a thunderstorm. I miss my grandmothers, too. I’d really like to be able to spend more time with both of them. And I’d like to see my cat, Spiff. My mom adopted him a year and a half ago.

Q: What was the worst part about taking the bus to New York City for all those years?

A: The smell. The smell was so nasty. When I was younger and kind of germaphobic, I couldn’t go anywhere after I got off the bus until I washed my hair.

Q: How do you like living in L.A.?

A: I’m anti-L.A. Just today I was downloading Chopin and reading a Jane Austen novel, trying to feel like I’m back on the East Coast, not that Jane Austen ever set foot on the East Coast. But the vibe out here is all wrong for me.

Q: Favorite CD of the moment — and you can’t say ABBA.

A: Radiohead’s “In Rainbows.” I like the way it makes me feel. And I like how all of their styles seem come together on this CD. My Dad gave me some Jethro Tull, too — and I love it. I listen to Tull all of the time now.

AMANDA SEYFRIED TIMELINE

• Dec. 3, 1985: In Allentown, Amanda Louise Seyfried is born to Ann and Jack Seyfried.

• 1993: At 8 years old, Seyfried signs with Allentown’s Image International agency after a representative tells her that she’s got “it.” She begins modeling, later moving to Bethlehem’s Pro Model agency, and then the Wilhelmina agency in New York.

• Spring 1999: A two-day job as an extra on “Guiding Light” marks Seyfried’s debut as an actress.

• December 2000: Seyfried lands her first speaking role as Lucinda Marie “Lucy” Montgomery on the soap opera “As the World Turns.”

• October 2002: Another New York City-based soap, “All My Children,” hires Amanda to play Joni Stafford, the posh daughter of religious parents.

• June 2003: Even though she missed 70 days of school her senior year working, Amanda graduates from Allen High School.

• April 2004: Seyfried enjoys her break-out role as one of the title characters in the Tina Fey-scripted “Mean Girls,” a teen comedy co-starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams. It goes on to earn more than $125 million at the box-office.

• September 2004: A small but pivotal part as Kristen Bell’s murdered best friend in “Veronica Mars” turns Seyfried into the Laura Palmer of the Gen Y set.

• January 2005: Anthology film “Nine Lives,” which casts Amanda alongside Sissy Spacek and Ian McShane, premieres at the Sundance Film Festival.

• March 2006: “Big Love,” soon to be everyone’s favorite polygamist drama, scores rave reviews after its HBO launch. Seyfried plays the role of Sarah, the straight-talking daughter of Bill Paxton and Jeanne Tripplehorn.

• January 2007: “Alpha Dog” opens and features a small but vivid turn by Seyfried as a party girl who spends her time hanging out with Southern Californian drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood (Emile Hirsch). Justin Timberlake co-stars.

• January 2008: The horror thriller “Solstice,” co-starring Seyfried and Shawn Ashmore, bypasses theaters and goes straight to DVD.

• Next Friday: “Mamma Mia!” co-starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan will open, giving Seyfried her biggest role yet in a major movie.

• January 2009: “Big Love” will begin its fourth season.

• Spring 2009: The scheduled release of “Jennifer’s Body,” a horror comedy scripted by Diablo Cody, the Oscar-winning spitfire behind “Juno.” Seyfried is slated to play the best friend of the title character (Megan Fox).

THE DETAILS: ‘MAMMA MIA!’

• What: Film version of the hit Broadway musical based on songs by the Swedish group ABBA

• When: Opens Friday

• Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Christine Baranski

• Rating: PG-13 (for some sex-related comments)

• Running time: 1 hr. 48 mins.

Source: MCall.com