Sydney Sweeney is reflecting on her character’s polarizing OnlyFans storyline on ‘Euphoria’ Season 3.
“From the very beginning, you can tell that Cassie has a desire to be loved,” she said in an interview with Vanity Fair published Tuesday about her character, who has risen to prominence as a model for a subscription-based site after marrying Nate, played by Jacob Elordi.
“She needs recognition from others,” she continued. “She doesn’t know how to love herself unless others love her.”
Regarding Cassie’s decision to join the site, Sweeney said that her character was even more excited about the idea that Cassie “all people love her and know who she is and feel like her world isn’t small.”
Sweeney also revealed how creator Sam Levinson discussed Cassie’s nude scenes with her before filming Season 3.
“He sent me the whole script and it already had all the Cassie scenes and the OnlyFans scenes in it. Then he called me and we were talking about it and we discussed everything,” she told the outlet.
“He asked me what I thought about it, and I told him, ‘Look, I’m playing a character,'” she explained.
The 28-year-old actress continued, “Do I agree with all of Cassie’s decisions? Would I personally make these choices? No, of course not.”
“But I’m an actor and that’s my job, this is Cassie’s life, and being able to do her justice and play her the way she should be played is to bring Sam’s vision to life and play Cassie in the most vulnerable and insane way possible,” Sweeney added.
Elsewhere in the interview, when asked which character she’s played most resembles her, Sweeney claimed that most people have “no idea” who she “really” is.
“That’s why I love acting,” she told the magazine. “The whole point of acting is being able to play different characters. It wouldn’t be interesting to play yourself.”
Showrunner Levinson, 41, recently spoke about how the “Anyone But You” actress reacted to the storyline before filming the season.
“It’s funny. When I first wrote it, I thought, ‘Maybe we could shoot all of this and not have any nudity. Maybe there’s a way to avoid certain things?'” he said in an interview with The New York Times earlier this month.
According to Levinson, the “White Lotus” actress responded by asking, “Are you kidding?”
“I play an OnlyFans model,” she was quoted as saying. “Are you saying you’re going to get away with that?” Levinson said American Eagle’s model makes “a valid point.”
