Sydney Sweeney is opening up about the process on the set of Euphoria, and as she explains, not every nude scene written in the script has been executed as such.
In an interview with The Independent, Sweeney spoke about working with both Sam Levinson, the show’s screenwriter, and an intimacy coordinator when preparing for nude scenes. As she shares, she’s never felt uncomfortable on set when portraying her character Cassie.
“There are moments where Cassie was supposed to be shirtless and I would tell Sam, ‘I don’t really think that’s necessary here’ and he was like, ‘OK, we don’t need it,’” Sweeney said. “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.”
The interview also found the star discussing past experience on projects outside of Euphoria, where she may not have felt as comfortable, as well as the “stigma against actresses who get naked on screen.” Sweeney added that she felt critics overlooked her performances in some projects due to nude scenes, and that “no one talks about it because I got naked” when referring to the HBO show.
“When a guy has a sex scene or shows his body, he still wins awards and gets praise,” Sweeney said. “But the moment a girl does it, it’s completely different.”
Sweeney has opened up about such scenes and the stigma surrounding them before, telling Teen Vogue back in September that she disassociates from her characters, and that she wishes people wouldn’t shame her for her work.
“I truly believe that love and the human body and the female body is another art form and is another way to communicate love and emotion and communication,” Sweeney says. “You can watch people brutalize and murder each other on TV, but then the moment someone shows their body it’s [fake gasp], ‘Oh my god, horror.’ I know many successful male actors who, if you put all their films together where they’re either nude or have a sex scene it could be hours worth. But then they win Oscars. The moment a girl does it, it takes away from their acting.”
