The following name is going to litter your cultural agenda for the foreseeable, so start name dropping Sydney Sweeney now!
After causing quite the stir in The Handmaid’s Tale playing Nick’s new concubine wife, Eden, Sydney is sailing straight into the hotly-anticipated murder mystery, Sharp Objects opposite Amy Adams. Plot spoiler: it looks dead juicy!
If that wasn’t enough, she will be starring in Zendaya’s HBO drug addict project, Euphoria, and Big Time Adolescence opposite the rapper, Machine Gun Kelly, telling the tale of a teen age boy coming of age whilst under the influence of his college dropout pal. Think of Sydney as the next Shailene Woodley, such is her ability to flesh out ‘real women. ’
Just some small, light-hearted projects then, Sydney? But as I call the twenty-year-old, she’s just living her everyday life, taking her “cute rescue dog,” to the vet. Get ready to become acquainted with your new obsession…
I found out I landed my Handmaid’s Tale role in dog training class
“I got a call from my agent in the middle of dog training classes and they said that I might want to step outside. When they told me, I started jumping up and down whilst screaming. People probably thought I was the craziest person out there. I went straight back in and called my mum later from the car – I was FREAKING out because I love the show so much! I watched the first season with my mum because we fell in love with the show together. Now being on it makes watching it a little different as I know what ACTUALLY goes on whilst filming. But it’s fun watching her reaction to different scenes or different storylines and I just disconnect myself from being in it. ”
We distract ourselves from The Handmaid’s horrors by singing Taylor Swift and talking about The Bachelor
“The cast and the crew are beyond hilarious, and we would just ‘goof off’ whenever the cameras weren’t rolling or sing Taylor Swift – Max Minghella (Nick) knows all of the words to the new Taylor Swift album! Some of the other crew members are fans of The Bachelor so every week, I was getting updated on what was happening. I was also doing school at the time, so I would have to run to the trailer, grab some books and try to read as much as I could before I had to go back on set. So there was a lot of things distracting me from the horrors that we were actually filming. ”
People come up to me and literally tell me they hate my character
“What was interesting is that before episode eight, everyone actually hated my character. I was even sitting at a table in Chicago and the table next to me turned around and said, ‘are you from The Handmaid’s Tale? ’ I said, ‘yes’ and they just replied with, ‘I hate your character! ’ As the series continues, you start to see how innocent Eden is and that she is just trying to do what she thinks is right. After that turning point, I saw a change in the public reaction and now they are getting mad at Nick for not giving her even the slightest bit of attention. ”
I create dedicated books about my character
“I separate myself from my characters as much as possible but I have these books that I create which are interactive diaries/timelines/memory books/pictures of the character’s entire world. I create her from the day she was born until the first page of the script so that I know everything about her, I know her memories and I know her thoughts. I use these books to just jump into her shoes and jump out of her shoes. For Eden, I included everything from prayers to pictures because sometimes you think she wouldn’t be able to read. For some of dreams, it’s all depicted in pictures, instead of words. ”
Sharp Objects has SO many twists and turns you will LOVE it
“Working with Amy Adams was amazing. I’ve always looked up to her as an actor and as a role model so being able to be on set with her was completely beyond anything I could ever imagine. We both build backstories for everything about our character’s past so we were able to live in the moment after the scene cut. Sometimes Jean-Marc Vallie (Sharp Objects director) wouldn’t call cut, he would just keep on going and he ended up adding more scenes and writing more so we could just keep going. People should watch this show because it’s not what people expect this show is going to be. If you like Amy Adams, if you like darkness, if you like twists and turns, then you are going to LOVE this show. It’s like an eight-hour movie. ”
Working with Zendaya is incredible
“We actually just wrapped the pilot for Euphoria – I finished yesterday and we’ve been doing it for the past two and a half weeks. Everyone is incredible – Zendaya is amazing, she’s super funny and a lot of fun to work with. It is defiantly a messed-up show, which I think is going to be a really good generational piece for everyone. There are so many different characters that anyone will be able to relate to and draw stories from. I can’t say more than that but
know that it’s going to take you by surprise. ”
I keep notes of advice on my phone
“Someone on The Handmaid’s Tale told me” ‘don’t compare yourself to others because you will never be able to be them. Try and be the best that you could possibly be. I have kept that on my phone ever since. ”
I thought at one point I would only ever play a ‘cute girlfriend’ but times are changing
“I would always worry that I was only going to play the girl next door or the cute girlfriend. But I’ve been really lucky that all my roles have been very intense and completely different kinds of characters. I’ve been able to work on shows with amazing role models, amazing actors, incredible female filmmakers. It’s been really cool to see the industry change and be part of that change. ”
