From her self-proclaimed “walking woke Twitter account” The White Lotus character Olivia to the pious Eden on The Handmaid’s Tale, Sydney Sweeney tends to choose roles “vastly different” from who she truly is.
“I actually try to find characters that I don’t connect to at all because I find that challenge interesting,” the Emmy-nominated actress told Deadline. “I always want to challenge myself so that I can better my craft.”
Though she is selective about the characters she chooses to portray, Sweeney finds that some roles still end up being relatable.
One of those roles is that of Cassie Howard, an L.A. teenager who wants more than anything to be loved, on HBO Max’s Euphoria. “Cassie, I think is one of the most relatable characters to me, because I search for love in other people and acceptance, and I’m scared of being alone,” she continued. “I was a teenage girl, too.”
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Though there is an element of familiarity in the overdramatic teenage girl that is Cassie, Sweeney swears that it’s her method, and not her own memories that shape Cassie’s character.
“What You See on Screen is Cassie”: Sweeney on Separating Herself from Her Characters
HBO
While it may seem easy to blur the lines between the self and the role when your acting method is so immersive, for Sydney Sweeney, it’s almost deceptively simple.
And just because there are some similarities, Sweeney doesn’t feel like it’s affected the challenge of the role—in fact, it’s taught her a thing or two. “I think that [Cassie] has fully taught me to let go of my insecurities that I may have. And she has taught me to fully allow myself to just engulf myself in her emotions,” Sweeney said. “It’s been a really beautiful experience to be able to play out all of her different, crazy emotions that she’s been having to deal with. It’s been really fun.”
Catch the Euphoria star’s full interview with Deadline here.
