To her fans, Sydney Sweeney will always be the highly memed Cassie Howard from HBO's Emmy-winning series, Euphoria. But recently, she announced that she's set to star in the remake of Barbarella — the film that made Jane Fonda famous.
She's really come a long way since Quentin Tarantino's Oscar hit, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood where the controversial actress went through an intense casting process, including a six-hour workshop...
Here's a closer look at Sweeney's time filming the box office hit.
Inside Sydney Sweeney's Six-Hour Workshop For 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood'
The White Lotus star had a unique audition for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. In an interview with Tmrw Magazine, Sweeney revealed that she'd sent Tarantino a letter, hoping to get the coveted role of Snake.
"Basically you could write a song, or paint something as well, because at this stage Tarantino had everyone auditioning for the same role and then he would place you in whatever role he saw fit," she said of the process where the director allowed actors to use different mediums to interpret a character.
"So I thought as I was having to audition for this one character, I'd do something 'extra credit' for another," she added. "I chose a different character that I liked, I wrote a letter from them to [Charles] Manson and I read the letter as if I was reading it to him. It was like a fucked up love letter, from a Manson girl's mind. He [Tarantino] asked to keep it and it was the only copy, I realize now I should've made a copy!"
The letter caught the filmmaker's attention, and soon Sweeney was taking a six-hour workshop with him. "Quentin had this amazing session with a few actors," explained The Voyeurs star. "They brought us to his office for a six-hour workshop with him. It was a chemistry read—he would work with us and then switch us off, and we all had lunch together. I left that room feeling totally OK if I didn't get it because of that experience. The things he said were so kind and supportive, and I was like, Yes, I love this industry."
Sydney Sweeney Was 'So Embarrassed' Working With Leonardo DiCaprio In 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood'
Being cast in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was a dream come true for Sweeney. "You know when you dream of working with these incredible actors, and you're like, 'Oh my gosh, it's going to take me years to get this off [my] bucket list,' and all of a sudden you walk into set and every single person on that list is there?" she told Coveteur. "Once [Upon a Time in Hollywood] was that."
Then speaking to Chicks in the Office, she confessed to being "so embarrassed" working alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.
"I went to set, and I was a nervous wreck. I was freaking out because I felt so stupid. Because in so many interviews, I was like, 'I love Leonardo DiCaprio.' I'm like, 'Oh, I hope he's never seen anything that I've said,'" she recalled. "I was like, 'Oh my god, I feel so embarrassed right now,' but I doubt he even knows who I am."
In July 2019, DiCaprio praised Sweeney's breakout TV show. "That show is amazing," he said of Euphoria. The young actress later gushed about the comment. "I couldn't stop laughing, I was like, 'This is so cool!'" Sweeney told The Hollywood Reporter. "I've always been a big fan of Leo, so getting to work with him was crazy awesome, but then to be on the same red carpet for the same movie and then he's saying my show is amazing, I'm like, 'What is happening right now?'"
What Sydney Sweeney Feels About Starring In 'Barbarella' Remake
Sweeney is now facing a huge challenge — to live up to Fonda's impact as Barbarella. When asked how she plans to approach the role, she said: "There's so many things. I mean, Jane Fonda, she created such an incredible, iconic character. And I want to, hopefully, just fill those shoes and give more to a whole new generation – her outfits, sci-fi, the fun of the story. So I'm looking forward to it."
Aside from Barbarella, Sweeney just landed a role alongside Dakota Johnson in the Marvel Comics adaptation, Madame Web. She's also set to star in The Registration, an adaptation of Madison Lawson's thriller of the same name.
