Sydney Sweeney Says She's Not Paid Enough To Even Take Six-Month Break From Acting

Two-time Emmy nominee Sydney Sweeney is worried about paying bills...just like all of us. Euphoria actor says she cannot afford to take a six-month break from acting due to the costs that come with her career. Sweeney admits that she hasn't yet earned enough to take a breather from acting should the need arise.

Sweeney says she "doesn't sleep because she worries she’ll lose her relevance as a rising young star." She was recognised twice for Emmys in the categories of Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Euphoria and Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for The White Lotus.

Sydney Sweeney can't afford break from acting 

The 24-year-old actor opened up about her life in Hollywood in a recent interview, “They don't pay actors like they used to, and with streamers, you no longer get residuals. If I wanted to take a six-month break, I don't have the income to cover that. I don't have someone supporting me, I don't have anyone I can turn to, to pay my bills or call for help.”

Here's how she broke it down: “The established stars still get paid, but I have to give 5 per cent to my lawyer, 10 per cent to my agents, 3 per cent or something like that to my business manager. I have to pay my publicist every month. That's more than my mortgage.”

Sweeney’s role in Euphoria as high schooler Cassie Howard has sparked controversy, with viewers concerned about the overly sexualised material and how its creator, Sam Levinson, has handled nude scenes.

"People forget that I’m playing a character," Sweeney adds.

"They think, ‘Oh, she gets naked onscreen, she’s a sex symbol.’ … I have no problems with those scenes, and I won’t stop doing them."

She further explains that she fully trusts "the filmmakers that I work with, and I’m always so excited for whatever Sam writes."

Sweeney made her film debut as a child artist in 2009 with ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction. She later appeared in the Netflix series Everything Sucks! (2018), Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale (2018) as Eden and as Alice in HBO's Sharp Objects (2018). In 2019, she bagged the role of Cassie Howard, in Euphoria, which also starred actors Maude Apatow, Zendaya, and Angus Cloud.

She will be seen next in the superhero film Madame Web, based on Marvel's character of the same name. The film will also star Dakota Johnson, Celeste O'Connor, Isabela Merced, Tahar Rahim, Emma Roberts, Mike Epps, and Adam Scott.

Suggested Reading: 5 Things That Make HBO’s Euphoria A Must Watch