Sydney Sweeney is no longer a “star on the rise” – she is officially a star who has risen.
The 24-year-old actress, most recently known for her work in the HBO Max shows White Lotus and Euphoria, did not always have directors who believed in her capability.
Sweeney was once told by a director that she would never be on television
According to an interview with British GQ, Sweeney recalled an encounter in which she was told she didn’t have that “television look.”
“A casting director told me once that I will never be on a TV show,” Sweeney said, adding that she apparently didn’t have the “right look”.
“Now, I’m on some of the biggest TV shows in the world.”
A timeline of Sydney Sweeney’s early life
The actress, most known for her “popular girl” roles, recently explained a timeline of her career that started with the struggles she faced early in life.
In the GQ interview, the star described her life growing up in the small town of Spokane, Washington – which was limiting for someone as ambitious and “thrill-seeking” as she.
Although a very athletic child, Sweeney liked the idea of playing a character and being somebody completely new. She also understood the process of booking different gigs and making connections in the industry at a very young age.
According to the article, after traveling back and forth from Los Angeles to Spokane for different auditions, Sweeney and her mother, father, and brother decided to touch down in Los Angeles for good. However, their family ended up losing their Spokane house due to financial struggles and even had to share one hotel room at The Holiday Inn with the four of them when Sweeney was just 16 years old.
“There’s also a beautiful memory in that time, too,” Sweeney said, “Because my little brother and I made the best of it.”
Even by the age of 18, Sweeney was not at the place career-wise that she expected to be, and was only booking minor, background parts on television shows. She had not secured any major roles at that age, and her family continued to struggle financially.
A few months after turning 18, everything changed for the star-to-be when she was cast in the mini-series Sharp Objects and the Netflix show Everything Sucks!.
Luckily for Sweeney, everything didn’t suck – after her success landing two major roles, her career went on an upward swing and she booked Euphoria off just one audition tape.
Sweeney’s successful career since booking Euphoria
In the past few years, Sydney Sweeney has become a well-known face on many television screens. Besides her roles as Olivia in The White Lotus and Cassie in Euphoria, Sweeney also has appeared in shows such as The Handmaid’s Tale and Robot Chicken. She is also currently filming National Anthem alongside singer Halsey and her Euphoria co-star Eric Dane.
Besides TV, Sweeney also has many other accomplishments under her belt at such a young age. In 2020, she founded her new production company Fifty-Fifty Films and even starred in the company’s first project – The Player’s Table. She was also named 2021’s Breakout Entertainer by The Associated Press right in the middle of all her hard-earned success.
Although Sweeney’s dreams may not have come true at the age of 16, she assures her followers that they are coming true now. She has recently appeared on magazine covers for C California Style Magazine, Fashion Canada, Porter Magazine, New York Magazine, and Cosmopolitan.
She posted a photo to Instagram of her Cosmo cover and wrote, “This has been a dream of mine since the beginning.”
Luckily for Sweeney and fans of her work, that casting director from her youth has turned out to be wrong. After magazine spreads, her own production company, and leading roles on multiple hit television series – it’s safe to say she had the look all along.