Sydney Sweeney’s Euphoria character, Cassie, has been through it during the HBO hit’s two seasons, yet the actress still hears the most chatter about her body.
“It’s fascinating to see how I play a character that gets judged and thrown around and talked about because of her body,” Sweeney, 27, told The Times of London in a profile published on Saturday, May 31. “Instead of being a lesson to the viewer, they mimic and shadow the exact same thing.”
She added, “A woman’s body is beyond empowering and beautiful and sexy and all the things. And I think that one day I will be able to have control of the narrative of my body. I’ll take the power.”
Sweeney further stressed that there is so much more to Cassie than meets the eye.
“She might look like a one-note dumb blonde, pull-your-tits-out kind of girl. But she’s not. There’s so much more to her,” she stated, gushing about her return to filming the long-awaited third season of the show. “Being back is crazy, I love Cassie so much. She’s insane.”
The Euphoria cast is currently back filming new episodes after experiencing a series of undisclosed delays. Sweeney, for her part, spent the hiatus working on other projects, such as a biopic about boxer Christy Martin. To bulk up for the role, Sweeney told that outlet that she worked out three times each day.
“[I did] an hour of weight training in the morning, two to three hours of boxing during the day, and another hour of weight training,” she explained, adding that she would eat meals every 30 minutes to keep the pounds on. “Literally, [I had] a Chick-fil-A sandwich every hour and a milkshake. It was amazing to feel like I was turning into someone else.”
Photos of Sweeney’s body transformation went viral in December 2024, inciting a flurry of critical comments online.
“Too pale and she needs to lose a few pounds around the middle,” one social media user wrote at the time, as another added, “Whoever this individual is, she has a horrible body.”
Sweeney swiftly clapped back, making a montage video of the offending comments with other footage of herself in the gym.
“Christy Martin Strong ???? ???? ???? ,” Sweeney captioned her Instagram Story footage.
Sweeney will both star and executive produce the film about Martin’s life and career as a boxer.
“Over the past few months, I’ve been immersed in training to bring to life the story of an incredible woman—a true champion who fought battles both inside and outside the ring,” Sweeney previously wrote via Instagram in October 2024. “Her journey is a testament to resilience, strength, and hope, and I’m honored to step into her shoes to share her powerful story with you all. More to come soon.”
The biopic is just one of the films to be released under Sweeney’s Fifty-Fifty Films, which she launched in 2020.
“I have to be like, I want to be in the room, I want to sit in every single meeting and want to be involved in every decision, I want to be taken seriously as a producer,” she told The Times. “I’m very direct, I’m very blunt. To be honest, actually, I always find that it’s the women who give me the hardest time.”
