SWEEN IDOL
I can’t wait to use sex as a weapon as space-hopping bombshell Barbarella, Sydney Sweeney says
Sydney also talked about her first experience of getting naked in Euphoria
AS popular but promiscuous Cassie Howard in teenage drama Euphoria, Sydney Sweeney is no stranger to a nude scene.
And now the Emmy-nominated actress cannot wait to use “sex as a weapon” when she plays the title role in the new Barbarella movie, about a female space traveller trying to the world.
6
6
6
Sydney says she is excited about taking on the part made famous by movie icon Jane Fonda, who stripped naked in the original 1968 film’s opening scene.
The science-fiction flick saw Fonda’s character bed a number of men as she battled to defeat evil scientist Durand Durand who had created a weapon that could destroy humanity — and who inspired the name of the band Duran Duran.
Sydney said: “Barbarella is such a fun character to explore. She embraces her femininity and sexuality, and I love that.
“She uses sex as a weapon and I think that’s such an interesting way into the sci-fi world.”
READ MORE IN SHOWBIZ
The 26-year-old American, who is also executive producer on the film, will not avoid plotlines that might now be seen as outdated.
She admitted: “I watched the original and was like, ‘This is incredibly insane and beyond iconic’. I thought, ‘This would be interesting to be made in today’s world’.”
‘So determined’
Sydney revealed she would even be open to discussion about welcoming 86-year-old Fonda back for a part in the reboot, saying: “It depends if she wants to be involved. I’m always up for talking to as many people as possible.”
Barbarella is based on a French sci-fi comic of the same name. The original was set in the 41st century, a time when Earthlings no longer copulate but instead take pills “until full rapport is achieved”.
Most read in Film
The film, which showed Fonda’s character sleeping with men to help save humanity, went on to become a cult classic thanks to its camp sense of humour and kitsch scenes.
But it also proved controversial. Although it turned Fonda into an international sex symbol, she later said she had mixed feelings about the movie as she was suffering from bulimia at the time of filming and got drunk before shooting the nude scene.
Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney stuns in a racy vinyl dress at showbiz bash
She has now voiced concerns about Sydney’s version, having seen her own suggestions for remaking Barbarella turned down.
But Sydney is not deterred by controversy — or stripping on screen — and will start work on Barbarella after she finishes filming the third series of Euphoria for HBO.
Talking about her first experience of getting naked in the telly drama, Sydney told the Awards Chatter podcast: “I randomly brought a lot of family members to the premiere, which was the pilot.
“I was just so excited because it was the big Hollywood premiere and that is what I have dreamt of for so long.
“I wanted to share that experience with my family and I didn’t think about the actual experience.
"I love my grandma so much but, when we got done, she leaned down — she was sitting two or three over from me — and she said, ‘You have the best t*ts in Hollywood’.
“I said, ‘Thank you so much’, because I was sinking in my chair the whole time thinking, ‘What have I done?’. But she made me feel better.”
Barbarella is such a fun character to explore. She embraces her femininity and sexuality, and I love that
Sydney Sweeney
Acting is all Sydney ever wanted to do. She was 11 years old when she wrote down a five-year business plan to convince her parents that Hollywood was worth a shot.
Her dad Steven was a hospitality worker and her mother Lisa a criminal barrister turned housewife.
The couple raised Sydney and her younger brother Trent in Spokane, Washington State, next to the Idaho Panhandle region.
They had no experience of showbusiness but were so impressed by Sydney’s ambition that they began letting her skip school so she could attend auditions in Los Angeles.
Reaching them involved an 18-hour drive across America so later, when she turned 13, the whole family relocated there.
Sydney told the Happy Sad Confused podcast: “I was always so determined.
6
6
“I couldn’t stand going home and seeing all my childhood friends and my family and feeling like a failure. Even at 15 and 16, I felt that weight and pressure. I knew that no matter what, I was never going to give up on myself.
“I really believed in myself and I worked really, really hard.
My mum and dad definitely instilled a work ethic in me as a person, whether it came to school or jobs or friendships. It was, like, put 110 per cent of yourself into it.
“I also saw how much my parents sacrificed in order to support me so I could follow my dreams.”
After her breakout role in Euphoria, Sydney played a spoiled teen in the hit TV series The White Lotus. She won supporting actress Emmy nominations for both in 2022.
I really believed in myself and I worked really, really hard
Sydney Sweeney
Her first rom-com, Anyone But You, was released last year and she is now starring in horror film Immaculate.
Despite brand partnerships with Miu Miu, Armani, Frankies Bikinis and Ford, Sydney remains a country girl at heart.
She was a tomboy growing up who loved burgers and pick-up trucks. On the Drive With Jim Farley podcast, Sydney said: “I grew up very hands-on, outside.
“I wasn’t really inside watching TV or using electronics.
“I was always building things with my hands. I would always be climbing trees and building treehouses.
‘I want a family’
“My parents would give me all the tools to do it and would never hold me back or say, ‘That’s too dangerous’.
“They would say, ‘If you hurt yourself, you’re going to learn and won’t hurt yourself the next time’.”
She added: “My parents told me to fall in love with as many things as possible and I’ve always approached life that way.
“I love languages, I love culture, I love learning and projects. There is so much that fascinates me in life, so why not just go after it all?”
Thankfully spending time in the spotlight since she was young has helped Sydney develop a thick skin to deal with some of the criticism she has faced.
There was outrage when guests at her mother’s 60th birthday party were photographed wearing MAGA-style (Make America Great Again) hats, which people claimed showed support for presidential candidate Donald Trump, last year.
Her brother reportedly said on Instagram that the caps actually read: “Make Sixty Great Again”.
Sydney was also slated for recently appearing on the Saturday Night Live comedy sketch show in the US dressed up in a Hooters waitress outfit.
And trolls demanded she “cover up” after attending the GLAAD media awards in LA wearing a low-cut Miu Miu dress earlier this month.
I saw how much my parents sacrificed in order to support me so I could follow my dreams
Sydney Sweeney
But the star — who was in the music video for Rolling Stones tune Angry — manages to laugh off the ridiculous abuse, with the support of her 40-year-old film producer fiancé Jonathan Davino who she describes as her “best friend”.
As well as dreaming of becoming an actress, she has always wanted to be a bride.
Sydney said: “What girl doesn’t create a Pinterest board for their wedding? I started making that when I was, like, ten. I don’t have a colour scheme yet.
"I’m more of an experience planner, so I’m like, ‘What experience do I want to give people? Are we going on a tropical vacation? Are we doing a carnival?’.”
And although she has a packed schedule, and a wedding to plan, that is not enough for ambitious Sydney.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Since buying a £5million house in Bel Air last year, she says: “I want to go into real estate. I want to build houses and have a family and direct and write.
“Maybe I will become a professional water skier, who knows?”
6
JANE WAS ‘GODDESS’
BARBARELLA was released in 1968 and directed by Jane Fonda’s first husband Roger Vadim. Several actresses were approached before she was cast.
Among them was Brigitte Bardot, who was not interested in a sexualised role, and pregnant Sophia Loren, who felt she was not a good fit.
To film the striptease title sequence, Fonda climbed on to a pane of thick glass, with the camera hung from the rafters above.
The film was the second most popular in the UK in 1968 after The Jungle Book. But it received mixed reviews.
Some took issue with its themes and tone, while one critic called it “nasty”.
Others said Barbarella was “the most iconic sex goddess of the Sixties”.
Topics