Sydney Sweeney Discusses Advocating for Herself on the Euphoria Set
In an interview with The Independent, Sydney Sweeney talks about her experience filming nude scenes for hit HBO original Euphoria.
xoxo pic.twitter.com/Jg9VOdXvLW
— Sydney Sweeney (@sydney_sweeney) January 20, 2022
Sweeney plays Cassie Howard, a sweet and sensitive teenager whose life is impacted by chaotic relationships. In the first and second seasons of the show, Cassie is in many sexual situations, with Sweeney doing multiple nude scenes. Sweeney sees the double standard that actresses face when it comes to filming naked, “[there’s] a stigma against actresses who get naked on screen. When a guy has a sex scene or shows his body, he still wins awards and gets praise. But the moment a girl does it, it’s completely different.”
It’s really wild how good Sydney Sweeney is.
— Kevin McHale (@druidDUDE) January 27, 2022
When she performs as Cassie, she understands the importance of sticking up for herself on set. Discussing conversations about nudity with Euphoria creator and writer Sam Levinson, she is unafraid to advocate for herself. She stated in the same interview, “there are moments where Cassie was supposed to be shirtless and I would tell Sam, ‘I don’t really think that’s necessary here.’ He was like, ‘OK, we don’t need it’. I’ve never felt like Sam has pushed it on me or was trying to get a nude scene into an HBO show. When I didn’t want to do it, he didn’t make me.”
zendaya, sydney sweeney, alexa demie, barbie ferreira, and maude apatow for euphoria s2, ep3 pic.twitter.com/Brw6wyzz5y
— best of zendaya (@zendayapost) January 24, 2022
Euphoria has been both lauded and criticized for the show’s portrayal of its high school-aged characters. The show’s main character and narrator, Rue Bennett (played by Zendaya, who won an Emmy for her portrayal in the first season), is struggling with drug addiction and mental illness. Other topics addressed on the show are abuse, death of family members, family estrangement, romantic relationships, and friendships. Euphoria airs Sundays at 9 EST on HBO Max.
it’s hard to relate to euphoria because at my high school we had crazy sock day
— abby govindan (@abbygov) January 27, 2022
