"Euphoria" Star Sydney Sweeney Got Candid About The Acting Struggles She Faced Before Getting Cast In Her First Shows

    "Now, I'm on some of the biggest TV shows in the world."

    Natalie Oganesyan
    by Natalie Oganesyan

    BuzzFeed Staff

    By now, it's safe to say that Sydney Sweeney is a household name.

    HBO Max

    Whether you know her from HBO's ever-buzzy shows Euphoria or The White Lotus, it's clear that she's here to stay. But in a new British GQ cover story, the 24-year-old actor shared that her acting journey wasn't always easygoing.

    Sydney wearing a crop top and a column skirt and matching gloves on the red carpet
    Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images for HBO

    At 12 years old, Sydney pitched her parents on why she should be an actor. She had a meticulous five-year plan and everything, so her family decided to travel back and forth from Spokane, Washington to Los Angeles, California.

    Sydney walking outside at night
    Gotham / GC Images / Getty Images

    Eventually, they settled in the City of Angels to save money on the routine flights. But financial issues led them to lose their house back in Washington and became one of the reasons for Sydney's parents' divorce.

    Sydney recalled being especially devastated when her plan didn't pan out. "I always thought that when I turned 18, I’d have made enough money to buy my parents' old house back," she explained. "And somehow by buying that house back, it would have [brought] my parents back together."

    Sydney holding a notebook while standing in front of a chalkboard that says Detension
    Scott Patrick Green / ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Unable to afford a permanent place in the notoriously expensive city, her family ended up sharing a room at a Holiday Inn for nine months, or as Sydney called it, "the poor version of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody."

    As we all know, though, her luck turned around with a breakout role in the crime miniseries Sharp Objects and the beloved (and unfortunately short-lived) '90s-themed dramedy Everything Sucks! Euphoria came along shortly after that.

    Kevin Winter / Getty Images

    Since then, she's also been in an erotic thriller called The Voyeurs and started a production company, Fifty-Fifty Films, which will produce a TV series featuring Halsey's acting debut.

    Of course, none of these achievements were instantaneous. Recalling a particular time where she was underestimated, Sydney revealed, "A casting director told me once that I will never be on a TV show," she said, adding that she was told she didn’t have the "right look."

    "Now, I'm on some of the biggest TV shows in the world," she concluded.

    Sydney holding a lit match in the dark
    Eddy Chen / HBO

    EXACTLY, EXACTLY, I KNOW THAT'S RIGHT!!!

    The Handmaid's Tale actor has previously opened up about being underestimated in the industry, calling out the hypocrisy of people praising her roles in shows like The White Lotus while ignoring her Euphoria performance "because I got naked."

    George Kraychyk / ©Hulu/Courtesy Everett Collection

    "All of a sudden critics are paying attention. People are loving me. They're going, 'Oh my God, what's she doing next?'" she said, adding that there's a double standard when it comes to women versus men actors performing sex scenes.

    Well, it looks like Sydney got the last laugh, anyway! And that casting director can join the likes of Larry David's strange Super Bowl alter ego in being dead wrong about things!

    HBO Max

    To read Sydney's full profile in British GQ, click here.