Euphoria Star Sydney Sweeney Clarifies Cut Nude Scenes Comment
Sydney Sweeney is setting the record straight about asking Euphoria creator Sam Levinson to cut unnecessary nude scenes for her character from the show. Sweeney, known for her roles in HBO's The White Lotus and Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, portrays Cassie on HBO Max's teen drama series. Cassie's a high school girl looking for love in all the wrong places, resulting in some serious low self-worth. It doesn't help that her best friend Maddy (Alexa Demie) is the epitome of self-confidence, and Cassie often feels like she's lost in her shadow.
Cassie's storyline throughout the two seasons of Euphoria has always been about her search for male validation. During season 1, Cassie tries (and fails) at making it work with Chris McKay (Algee Smith). But she takes a dark turn when she hooks up with Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi), Maddy's on-again, off-again boyfriend. Cassie plays an important, but not major, role in the most recent season of the HBO series. But Sweeney caused some buzz behind the scenes after a January 2022 interview about the Euphoria set. She revealed that while filming the show, she asked Levinson to cut out a few nude scenes for Cassie when she felt they weren't necessary.
More recently, Sweeney spoke to Teen Vogue to clarify her statements about the showrunner, supporting his approach. Sweeney says she never explicitly asked Levinson to cut out any scenes. Instead, Sweeney says her quote was meant to point out Levinson's emphasis on respecting actors' boundaries on set. In the end, Sweeney always pursues her job by keeping in mind the ethos of Cassie. She explains:
"I never asked him to cut any scenes. It got twisted and turned and it became its own beast, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ It was more how respectful Sam is and how incredible of a director he is, that he would never make me do something I didn’t feel comfortable with. I think [nudity] important to the storyline and the character. There’s a purpose to what that character is going through. That’s the character. We all get naked in real life. We show this character’s life and what they’re going through. Cassie’s body is a different form of communication for her.”
There has been a lot of online chatter about the Euphoria set, with some insinuating that Levinson perpetuates a toxic work environment. But Sweeney joins a producer and others who support Levinson's approach to making Euphoria. The show itself centers around rough themes like addiction, violence, and abuse, which often manifests in the actors portraying unsettling scenes. However, based on Sweeney's explanation, it sounds like Levinson keeps the actors' opinions in mind and is willing to pivot when necessary.
It also makes sense that Sweeney would praise the experience of a professional working environment in the case of her character, whose promiscuity and sexuality are integral parts of telling her story. If Cassie had no scenes featuring sex or nudity, the viewers' interpretation of her emotions and struggles would be totally different. Euphoria is praised for its characterization, so it sounds like the cast and crew share a similar goal in collaborating to continue with those raw portrayals.
Source: Teen Vogue