Sydney Sweeney and how she feels about her in 'Euphoria'
Sydney Sweeney addressed the backlash to the amount of on 'Euphoria', saying that she feels there is "a stigma against actresses who get naked on screen".
"Euphoria" is not a series that shys away from mature themes, and some argue that the explicit nature of the show is essential to conveying the story's message. Now, Sydney Sweeney, the actress who plays Cassie Howard, has shared her thoughts on the matter, particularly regarding her own nu** scenes of hers.
'Euphoria' has captivated critics and audiences alike with its avant-garde (and often daring) depiction of the American high school experience. Now well into its second season, 'Euphoria' continues to push the limits of what can be shown on television, with even more graphic scenes of drug use, violence and s**.
Sydney Sweeney in a new interview with The Independent, spoke about the costs behind her hard work. While chatting about the new season currently airing on HBO, the actress revealed her thoughts behind filming nu** scenes, especially around the reception they cause. Although she feels comfortable filming these scenes in 'Euphoria', she has asked that some of them be cut.
Sydney Sweeney spoke about her nu** in 'Euphoria': they affected her and her family
In the interview, Sweeney said that she believes her nu** scenes on 'Euphoria' overshadow the "great performance" she put on on the show. Despite being proud of her work, she feels that she doesn't get the credit she deserves because people are focusing on the wrong thing.
In contrast to 'Euphoria', she said that her performance in 'The White Lotus', another HBO series, earned her more recognition for her hard work as people were not as focused on her nudity. Sweeney also referenced her appearance in 'The Handmaid's Tale' during the interview, saying that she had also done intimate scenes in that project, but they were shot in a way that didn't overshadow her performance.
"With The White Lotus, I felt like people finally recognized the hard work I'd been doing," she said. “This is something that has bothered me for a while. I am very proud of my work on 'Euphoria'. I thought it was a great performance. But nobody talks about it because I got naked. I did 'The White Lotus' and suddenly the critics are paying attention. People are loving me. They were like, 'Oh my God, what is he going to do now?' I was like, 'Didn't you see that in 'Euphoria'? Didn't you see that in 'The Handmaid's Tale'?'”
Her struggles with the public perception of her work demonstrate the stigma that exists against actresses who strip naked on screen. Sweeney argued that when a guy has a s** scene or shows off his body, that actor will continue to win awards and praise. However, the moment a girl does the same thing, the reception is completely different.
Plus, there's even been a bit of backlash online from 'Euphoria' fans, says Sweeney. After the series aired in 2019, viewers shared screenshots of Cassie's nu** scenes on social media. Sweeney says she only found out about it because her younger brother was tagged in the posts.
"That was the most painful thing anyone could do," she said. “What I do is completely separate from my family. My character is completely separate from me. It's so disrespectful and heartbreaking."
The actress went on to say that there isn't really a coping mechanism, that "you just get used to" online criticism. Fortunately, she had no problem filming s** scenes or nudity in 'Euphoria'.
"Sam [Levinson] is amazing," she said. "There are times when Cassie was supposed to be shirtless and I'd say to Sam, 'I really don't think that's necessary here.' He was like, 'Okay, we don't need it.' or I was trying to put a nu** scene on an HBO show. When I didn't want to do it, he didn't make me."
But this hasn't always been the case, says Sweeney. The actress went on to explain that some scenes have been more difficult to film, especially one where a director failed to communicate properly and yet she refused to make any changes to the script.
"I've had experiences where I want to go home and completely rub myself off because I feel gross," Sweeney revealed. “I didn't feel comfortable with my co-star or the crew, and I just didn't feel like my character would do it. That made me even more self-aware. I felt like I couldn't speak."
Overall, Sweeney still says that she loved her time on 'Euphoria' and that it was still nothing compared to the terrible experiences she had on other projects. She said that she's had worse times on other shows where she just wanted to go home and completely rub herself off because she felt gross after filming.
While she didn't mention what projects those were, she did say that she felt uncomfortable with her co-stars and crew, and that she didn't think her character would have agreed to do what she was told to play.
'Euphoria' includes both male and female nudity, although in some cases, prosthetics are used in scenes involving the male actors (such as during Eric Dane and Hunter Schafer's disturbing s** scene in the first season). Actresses, on the other hand, don't have that option.
