Sydney Sweeney is having her moment. After over a decade of pounding the pavement, she has experienced a breakthrough in Hollywood. This year alone, the actor earned not one but two Emmy nominations for her roles in Euphoria and The White Lotus. And the Washington native seems to be capitalizing on her recent success by constantly booking new projects. But just how did Sweeney get her start in acting?
Sydney Sweeney revealed she has social anxiety
With the number of interviews and red-carpet events Sweeney does, one would think she felt at ease with public speaking. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Players Table producer has been candid about the fact that she pretty much always gets nervous at events. She’s shared that she experiences social anxiety and sometimes has to channel an alter ego (or some version of her characters) to get through star-studded events.
How did the ‘Euphoria’ star get into acting if she has stage fright?
“I have terrible stage fright, so I wish someone would’ve told me how much, as Sydney, I would have to speak, because I feel safer in my characters,” Sweeney explained to Elle. But if Sweeney has such terrible stage fright, how did she get into acting in the first place? Unlike many of her peers, the Reality star did not grow up doing school plays. Her interest in being an actor seems to have stemmed purely from her imagination.
“I just, I always knew that I wanted to play in as many imaginary worlds and characters as possible,” Sweeney shared with Emmys about her initial interest in acting. “I had fun, imaginary friends that I would play with and things I would create. And once I realized movies and TV shows were basically imaginary worlds brought to life and that could be a job, I was like, ‘Oh my god, I want to do this. I would always put on little performances for my parents and grandparents. And I think that’s how it all began.”
Sweeney made a business plan to convince her parents to let her pursue a career in acting
Fate seemed to deal Sweeney a lucky hand. When she was around 12, a small indie movie came to her hometown of Spokane, Washington. As soon as learned that the zombie film was holding auditions, she came up with a plan to convince her parents to let her try out. To persuade them, she put together a PowerPoint Presentation that included a 5-year business plan. This plan detailed what would happen if they let her audition for the film and pursue a career in acting.
Ultimately, Sweeney’s plan worked, and she convinced her parents to let her pursue an acting career. The zombie indie would serve as the actor’s very first professional credit. And while it may have taken Sweeney more than five years to find the success she was looking for, things seemed to have worked out well for her.
