Sydney Sweeney is making it crystal clear—her characters might get messy, but she’s not taking those messy feelings home.
The Euphoria star has revealed that she refuses to pour her own personal feelings into her roles, all in the name of preserving a “healthy, balanced life.” At 27, Sydney says this boundary is something she learned early in her career from an acting coach, and it’s a rule she sticks to no matter how intense the role gets.
Speaking to Empire magazine, Sydney explained, “I love to be able to jump fully into these characters and go mad, almost, in the scenes, but if I took that home, that definitely would not be a fun dynamic for my friends and family.” She credits Andy, the father of fellow actor Kodi Smit-McPhee and a seasoned acting coach, with teaching her to separate herself from her roles. “He taught it to me as a way of just making sure that I can have a healthy, balanced life and be able to know who Sydney is as a person and then also be able to know who my characters are.”
Her latest role is in the thriller Echo Valley, where she stars alongside Julianne Moore—someone she admits she’s totally obsessed with. “When I found out I was going to do a movie with her… I kept being like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m ticking off all these big bucket-list items in my career.’” In the movie, Sydney plays a drug-addicted young woman who returns home to her mother, played by Moore, leading to some emotionally heavy scenes. But even with such intense content, Sydney stays true to her process. “I just let whatever happens with the character happen. I never know what’s going to come out. I don’t know how I’m going to perform a scene. I don’t plan it,” she said.
Outside of Echo Valley, she’s got a packed schedule. Upcoming projects include Split Fiction, directed by Jon M. Chu and based on a video game; a biopic on legendary boxer Christy Martin; and a rumored role as actress Kim Novak in Scandalous!, helmed by Colman Domingo. Sydney is clearly in her career prime, but she hasn’t always felt this confident in the spotlight.
In Vanity Fair’s 2025 Hollywood Issue, she opened up about the early days of her career when she tried to “hide” her personality. “I didn’t want to give it all away,” she said, adding that people often create their own versions of who you are. “Then when you just talk about work, people are annoyed or bored… they just create their own idea of who you are. I see that all the time with me.”
Despite all that, Sydney is carving her path, one boundary at a time, and keeping her personal feelings exactly where they belong: personal.
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