Sidney Sweeney didn’t want to “avoid” nudity when it came to Euphoria Season 3’s storyline, according to show creator Sam Levinson.
“When I first wrote this, I thought, ‘Well, maybe this is all filmed and there’s no nudity,'” Levinson, 41, said on the Monday, June 1, episode of The New York Times’ podcast “Popcast.” “I was talking to her about maybe there are ways around certain things (things), and she looked at me and was like, ‘Are you kidding me? I’m an OnlyFans model.'”
Levinson clarified that he is “constantly” talking to the actors about “what’s best for the characters.” Sweeney, 28, wasn’t afraid to take any risks.
“I think she’s an absolutely fearless actor. She’s also incredibly professional and comes to the game every day,” he continued. “I love working with her because she is very flexible in terms of performance.”
Mr. Levinson said there was “a great deal of trust” between him and Mr. Sweeney.
“You can say, ‘Why don’t we make this scene a little more crazy and add a little more humor to it?'” Sometimes a completely different version of a scene suddenly appears based on her performance. ” he added. “We’re working in this OnlyFans world where women are paid to whisper into ear-shaped microphones and lick them. There’s a level of absurdity there that’s just fun.”
While other storylines came to a more definitive end in the season finale on Sunday, May 31st, Sweeney’s final scene was left open-ended with him co-starring Maud Apatow. While Cassie (Sweeney) is washing sex toys, her sister Lexi (Apatow) is emotional over Lou’s (Zendaya) death.
Sidney Sweeney has spoken candidly about taking off her clothes for nude scenes in Euphoria and other projects. After Euphoria premiered in 2019, Sweeney, who plays Cassie, opened up about the downsides of being naked on screen. “I don’t think as many people took me seriously in Euphoria because I took my shirt off.” (…)
Ahead of Sunday’s episode, Sweeney posted several behind-the-scenes photos from the show’s final season on Instagram.
“It’s… called acting,” she captioned the post, which also included a near-nude photo. (Sweeney’s topless scenes received widespread criticism throughout the season.)
Levison previously addressed the fan backlash over Sweeney’s NSFW storyline in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in April.
“[Cathy]has a doghouse and little dog ears and nose, and it has a unique sense of humor,” he said at the time. “But what makes the scene lively is the fact that her housekeeper is filming it.”
He added, “What we always wanted to find is another layer of absurdity that we could tie into it without getting too into her fantasies and fantasies. The gags are about popping out, breaking down walls.”
