Sydney Sweeneyhas been steadily acting for over 15 years, but her big break, arguably, did not come until 2019’sEuphoria. LikeEuphoria, many of Sweeney’s early roles in her career have been on television, but she has expanded into movies as well with blockbusters likeOnce Upon A Time In Hollywood, horror likeImmaculate, and rom-coms likeAnyone But You.
Sweeney might have a reputation for appearing like a classic blonde bombshell, but she appears in movies and TV projects as more than simply a sex symbol. Her roles have been varied, even if they are not always as well received, like 2024’sMadame Web, her first foray into the superhero genre. Sweeney has more than demonstrated that she has a well of emotion to tap into and a great grasp of the characters she plays. These are Sydney Sweeney’s best movie and TV roles in her career (so far) that are the best showcases of her talent.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Cast
Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, which takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton, the former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth. Both struggle to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognize anymore, but Rick soon realizes he’s the next-door neighbor of the infamous Sharon Tate.
An early instance of Sweeney playing a real person in her career, the actor gives on-screen life to former Charles Manson family member Dianne Lake in Quentin Tarantino’s fictional tale. While Tarantino takes elements from the real-life murder of Sharon Tate and what was going on in Hollywood and the Manson family at the same time, the bulk of the movie is fictional.
Sweeney’s part is little more than a cameo here as the youngest woman (just 14) under the thumb of Charles Manson. It makes the list of her best projects, however, becauseit’s one of Tarantino’s best movies, and because it showcases the great eye he has for casting young talent. In addition to Sweeney, the movie also features Margaret Qualley and Austin Butler, who have gone on to shoot into the stratosphere of stardom, much like Sweeney.
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Big Time Adolescence
Big Time Adolescence is a coming-of-age film directed by Jason Orley. It follows 16-year-old Mo as he navigates high school life under the influence of his best friend Zeke, a charismatic college dropout, whose unconventional guidance creates tension with Mo’s concerned father.
Sweeney’s Holly is not the focus ofBig Time Adolescence. Instead, that goes to Griffin Gluck’s Mo and Pete Davidson’s Zeke, a teenager and the drug dealer he bonds with, respectively. Mo idolizes Zeke, and when he begins following in the older man’s footsteps, it becomes clear that their lives need to change. The movie walks a fine line between commenting on a specific lifestyle and being an entertaining teen coming-of-age tale.
Sweeney is there in a supporting role. Holly is Zeke’s girlfriend, but her bond with both characters is strong.She steals every scene that she’s in, which is no small featconsidering both Gluck and Davidson are both accomplished in different venues (Gluck in more heady drama and Davidson in more screwball comedy). Her story might not be the focal point of the movie, but she shines in her role here.
Big Time Adolescencewas nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.
Everything Sucks!
Set in the 1990s, Everything Sucks! follows the lives of high school misfits in Boring, Oregon, as they navigate the trials of adolescence, including friendships, budding romances, and the clash between the A/V Club and Drama Club.
Everything Sucksis one of the many series canceled by Netflix too soon. The series only lasted one season on the streamer, but it certainly could have used more.
Everything Sucksfollows a group of teenagers at their high school in 1996. When the school play is canceled, two very different groups of school outcasts are determined to see the play performed. The drama club and the A/V club decide to band together and pool their respective talents to make a movie they can show to their entire school instead.Everything Suckscertainly follows a lot of coming-of-age tropes but with the added benefit of ‘90s nostalgia.
Sweeney stars as Emaline, one of the most dramatic of teenagers to ever grace the screen.Much of her storyline revolves around her love life and the crushes that develop, but those romantic feelings are used to propel self-discovery in the series. It’s a really fun role for Sweeney, especially compared to so many of the heavy roles she is known for today.
Reality
Based on a true story, Reality is a drama film created by HBO Films that retells the story of Reality Winner, an Air Force veteran and yoga instructor. When Reality comes home to be questioned by two FBI agents, the next two hours of her life become a tense affair recounting her work as an intelligence contractor. Utilizing the actual FBI transcript, the movie retells the events in her home as they happened.
Because most of the movie keeps the camera trained on Sweeney, her performance as Reality had to be perfection, and it is.
Realityis one of the first movies in which Sweeney is the lead rather than a member of the larger ensemble. The biopic is about Reality Winner, a former US military member and NSA translator arrested in 2017 for leaking information to the public about Russia’s involvement in the 2016 US presidential election. Sweeney stars as the titular character.
While the film is technically a biopic, it’s also inspired by the stage playIs This A Room,which used the transcript of Reality Winner’s interrogation as the basis for its script. The play’s creator is the film’s director, Tina Satter, who is able to really expand from the bare-bones approach of the play toa fully immersive drama despite most of the movie taking place in a single room that relies on Sweeney to truly sell it. It’s somehow both expansive and claustrophobic, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.
Because most of the movie keeps the camera trained on Sweeney, her performance as Reality had to be perfection, and it is. There are subtle shifts in her body language and tone throughout the early scenes of the movie as she attempts to gauge how much trouble she might be in before Sweeney gets to a full-on panic.
Sharp Objects
Sharp Objects is an HBO thriller mini-series that centers on reporter Camille Preaker, a woman with a dark past returning to her hometown. Returning to Wind Gap, Missouri, to investigate two murders, she takes up at her childhood home, where she must now contend with her mother, who will force her to reckon with her past.
Sweeney only appears in one episode…
Sharp Objectsis an eight-episode miniseries starring Amy Adams. The series sees Adams as a crime reporter with alcoholism who recently had an extended stay in a psychiatric hospital before returning to her hometown to investigate the murder of two girls. Though the series was a hit with critics, it did not find a wide audience.
Sweeney only appears in one episode, so it might be surprising that this role could land among her best projects. She plays Alice, the roommate of Adams’ character in the psychiatric hospital. The two bond over their previous self-harm, and Alice becomes like a surrogate little sister to the main character.It’s surprising that Sweeney could be so affecting in such a short amount of time in the show, and it’s a great showcase of her talents since she is able to keep up with the drama of award show darling Adams seemingly effortlessly.
The White Lotus
The White Lotus is a television series that explores the interactions of guests and staff at an upscale tropical resort. Premiering in 2021, the narrative unfolds over a week, revealing underlying complexities and tensions among the resort’s seemingly ideal travelers and employees.
White Lotusis the kind of series that people cannot stop talking about while it is airing. The series features a look at some of the darkest moments of (wealthy) humanity, but it does so with plenty of pathos, humor, and a whole lot of twists and turns in its narrative.Sweeney appeared in the first season of the show in which guests and resort employees clash at an expensive getaway in Hawaii. The series explores socioeconomic dynamics through this ritzy resort.
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Sweeney stars as Olivia a young woman whose family, including her parents and brother, vacation at the resort. She spends much of her early time exemplifying spoiled and bratty behavior, complete with gossiping with her friend by the side of the pool. Throughout the season, however, she begins to quietly question her own actions and privilege as she begins to realize just how far that privilege goes.
Sweeney was nominated for an Emmy forWhite Lotusbut lost to her series co-star Jennifer Coolidge.
Euphoria
Euphoria is a teen drama created by Sam Levinson and starring Zendaya, Maude Apatow, and Angus Cloud. The series deals with the dark reality of a drug-addicted teen on her road to recovery as she faces a multitude of challenges and issues.
Though Sweeney has appeared in a variety of movie and TV roles over the years, her best-known is easilyEuphoria. It isEuphoria, for better or worse, that has made Sweeney a household name - as much for her physical assets displayed in her character’s wardrobe as her talent.It’s here that the phrase “bombshell” started getting thrown around, butEuphoriashowcases just how great Sweeney is at drama.
Euphoriais a series in which everything about adolescence is heightened. There are teenagers struggling with addictions, their own identities, and their need to be loved by people who do not love them. Sweeney’s Cassie is mostly the latter. She presents an image of perfection (or at least attempts to) for her peers, but she also sleeps with boys who already have girlfriends and seeks love in toxic relationships.
Sweeney’s Cassie is someone who desperately wants to be seen and cared for, and she gets very little of that in the series.Her scenes are full of tears, barely restrained emotions, and are an impressive showcase for someone who can play every facet of the emotional spectrum.
Anyone But You
Anyone But You is a romantic comedy by director Will Gluck starring Sydney Sweeny and Glen Powell. Sweeny and Powell star as Bea and Ben, two strangers with an incredible first date that goes sour following one incident at the tail end. Thinking the worst is behind them, the two are roped into a destination wedding in Sydney, Australia, where they’ll have to pretend to be a couple despite absolutely hating each other.
…a breath of fresh air to demonstrate her talent.
Anyone But Youtook the world by storm in 2023. It is a return to form for romantic comedies, which just have not been landing as well at the box office in the last few years.Anyone But Youproved that the world is still interested in rom-coms as long as they are both funny and endearing.
The movie isa loose adaptation of Shakespeare’sMuch Ado About Nothing. It borrows names and the character misunderstandings that inform the relationships from the play, but brings it into the modern day. Sweeney’s Bea and Glen Powell’s Ben initially hit it off, but after misunderstanding one another following that stellar first date, grow to loathe one another. That loathing comes to a head when they both head to Australia for a wedding in which they are both members of the wedding party.
Anyone But Youreally showcases how charming Sweeney can be and how well-versed in comedy she really is.So many of her roles of the last five years have been bogged down in drama and darkness, making this one a breath of fresh air to demonstrate her talent.
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Americana
Americana is a film set in a small South Dakota town where a rare Lakota Ghost Shirt enters the black market, leading to the violent intertwining of the lives of local outsiders and outcasts.
Americanais Sydney Sweeney’s only project to currently (as of December 2024) hold a 100% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes.While some others come close, most of those others are television shows in which she plays a smaller role.Americanais an independent movie that allows Sweeney to fully shine.
The movie is a crime-comedy that has not been seen by general audiences yet, though Lionsgate did purchase the distribution rights after the movie made a splash at SXSW in 2023. A combination of neo-noir and a modern Western, the movie is both engaging and hilarious as the cast fully embraces their turns as Western archetypes in the movie. Sweeney stars alongside musician Halsey and the always hilarious Paul Walter Hauser.
Sweeney gets to fully embrace the chaotic nature of the storyas it sees several people from different walks of life, mostly societal outcasts, all converging on the same South Dakota town to get a rare shirt on the black market. The premise is outlandish, but Sweeney and her costars make it work.
The Handmaid’s Tale
The Handmaid’s Tale is a television adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel, released in 2017. It is set in a dystopian future where a woman is compelled to live as a concubine under a strict fundamentalist theocracy.
Euphoriamight be the role that got Sweeney noticed by TV audiences, but when asked in an interview by IMDb while promotingImmaculatewhich role she would like to be known for, Sweeney pickedEden inThe Handmaid’s Tale. It’s easy to see why. It’s astark contrast to so many of her other roles. Her work as Eden is mostly quiet and understatedwhile larger things are going on around her in the scenes, but the audience cannot help but watch Eden’s reactions.
The Handmaid’s Taleadapts Margaret Atwood’s novel for the screen, and Sweeney only appears in a handful of episodes during the run. As Eden, she is the child bride of one of the men in the series, and she goes from pious and naive to rebellious and knowing in just seven episodes. When she is caught, Eden refuses to admit her sins, andSydney Sweeneyplays her with a quiet strength despite her doomed narrative.
