Sydney Sweeney was 'highly sexualized in high school' like her character in 'Euphoria'

Updated

Sydney Sweeney loves the challenge of portraying different characters on screen. When it comes to her relationship with Cassie Howard, who she plays in the HBO hit Euphoria, however, there is one similarity between their lives.

"I was highly sexualized in high school because I had boobs," she told Elle. "It's kind of funny: What was being said about Cassie in Euphoria, the public then decided to do to me in real life. Which I thought was so crazy, because we were trying to show a character who was so hypersexualized, and what could have been the cause and effects for her. And they just continue to do it."

Through memes and conversations on social media, it sometimes seems as though people have a difficult time separating Sweeney from her character. She's even previously spoken about not being taken "seriously" as a result of taking her shirt off on screen. Even still, she told Elle that she does what she needs to for the sake of the character's narrative.

"I've always said that if it's important for the character in the story line and what they are going through, then my job is to bring this character to life. I'm not gonna do a disservice to my character and take away from a moment that might change and sculpt who she is later on. That's how I’ve always looked at it," she said. "So if there is a scene and a project that doesn't make sense, and it feels like it's just thrown in, then I might say something."

While there were previously rumors swirling about Sweeney's discontentment with some of the more intimate scenes in Euphoria, she shared that she feels that she's in good hands on set.

"We are in such a great time right now in the industry where we have intimacy coordinators, and I've always felt comfortable with mine," she told the magazine. "They're very collaborative and very supportive. I think it’s important for every set to have one."

At 25 years old, the actress is as determined as ever to reach all of her goals in Hollywood by working on projects in front of the camera and behind it with her own production company. Still, there's a part of her that's always thinking about her future and the possibility of one day building a family.

"Ever since I was little, I've always wanted to be a mom, and I love kids. I love their imaginations and think they're a beautiful source of light. And I think that it's the most normalcy that I'll be able to achieve in my lifetime," she said. "I think that being a mother, and a working mother, is really important. I really want to achieve that one day."

In the meantime, she's happy to prove just how successful she can be in the industry.

"In high school, whenever I'd go home [between filming], I would feel so insecure and judged. People would be like, 'So have you done anything? When are you gonna get a real job?' Or 'When are you just gonna come home and get married and have a real life?' And I knew that if I ever gave up on my dream, I wouldn't be able to live with myself," she said. "I wasn't going to allow myself to quit, and allow people to tell me that I’m not good enough or I wasn’t going to make it. I was just going to keep working as hard as I possibly could to achieve my dreams."

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