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- I don't think I'll ever be able to live that scene down. I think it'll follow me for the rest of my life. Hi, I'm Sydney Sweeney and this is "The Breakdown". I will usually watch my work at the premiere or when we're editing, but once it premieres and I'm done, I don't typically watch it again. - Can I talk to you ladies? - We're working, and you don't say no to someone like Addison. I mean, she'd have to be like dead first. Oh my goodness. Here I am as Willa on "Pretty Little Liars". So, I was a huge fan of the show. My best friend Jade and I, every week we would get like a tub of Cinnabon ice cream and we would sit on the couch and we would just binge watch "Pretty Little Liars". And when this audition came, I remember I was super excited. It was a very small role but it was like the last episode of the season. I don't know why, but I wore my glasses to the audition and I've never worn my glasses for anything ever before. I used to feel really self-conscious about wearing glasses and I booked it and they had me wear my glasses in it, which was really exciting. The Hawaiian guy seems to be okay. Everybody's talking all friendly. Aw, that was Snake in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood". I turned 21 while I was filming that, which was a very memorable 21st birthday. And I was also in the middle of filming season one of "Euphoria". The audition process was probably one of the coolest audition processes I've ever had. Everybody got the same scene and you could come in and they said if you wanted to do like extra credit, in a sense, or extra homework, you could. And everybody interpreted that in different ways. I knew that they were interested me in Snake and I decided to write a love letter to Manson. Some people painted paintings, wrote songs, like it was just, it was a really cool immersive process. And then we had a callback and then had another callback where it was, I wanna say like 15, 20 of us and we just kind of all hung out and it was, it was like a really cool session where we just sat with him and talked and we all got in different groups and he mixed and matched us. I remembered once I left there I called my mom and I was like, even if I don't get this, that was probably the coolest experience I've ever had and I'm just lucky enough to be in that room. And then later that night I found out that I got it. He's stimming. He can entertain himself for hours with just his own hand gestures. - I'm fine in here. - See Mom, he's fine. He's being himself gaming and fapping and bye. That is Olivia from "White Lotus", season one. She was a fun character. She's like my mom's worst nightmare and it's fun building characters that represent a certain like, generation almost. And with Olivia, Mike had it on the page, like, it was there and then it was just about bringing her to life in a certain way and being in touch at that time I was like okay, she's gonna be one of those people that's like on Twitter 24/7. Oh my god. Do I look like I'm in "Oklahoma"? Why would your play be set in Oklahoma? - You thought I was auditioning for "Oklahoma". - I haven't read it so... - I don't think I'll ever be able to live that scene down. I think it'll follow me for the rest of my life. - [Producer] What was the hardest scene to shoot? - Whenever we have to do party scenes in "Euphoria", they're pretty hard 'cause we usually have over 300 extras. We're filming night shoots and they're night shoots back to back. So, my call time will be 2:30 PM and I'll be filming till like six, 7:00 AM and then again the next day for a week long straight sometimes and it's a party so you're just full of energy. And Cassie, of course, is just doing chaotic stuff and those are probably some of the hardest days. That bathroom set was actually not a part of the party scene so we filmed the party and the bathroom scene like weeks and weeks apart. What I remember the most is trying to figure out exactly how we were gonna lay me in the tub 'cause it was a weird shaped tub and we had to make sure we saw the phone and the wash rags. Everything just becomes super technical. - [Producer] What were your first impressions of some of your fellow cast members? - I was just nervous. I'd never been on a big huge TV show like this before and automatically I just became really good friends with Maude. It was like my college, high school friend group that I never really, really got. But what do I do? Well no, this is the time that I'm supposed to be meeting people, doing things. (Bea gasps) Holly, you're gonna call me back. Goddammit. What I love about that scene is I love physical comedy. I think it's fun. I think it's embarrassing. I think it pulls you outta your comfort zone. I think that it brings people together in a fun way. And that was all Will, our director. I saw Glen in "Top Gun" and then I also met him at the MTV Movie Awards, and when I was putting together the list for who would star opposite me in "Anyone But You" I wanted to find that guy that everybody likes and is not afraid to have fun and wanted to just get down and dirty and make this film. Because honestly when I brought it to him, when it was just a script, and so I needed someone who knew that it was going to be a lot of hard work and we were gonna have to put it together. We're 22-year-old girls in situationships. We can find out anything about anyone with literally no information. - All right then coo-coo-coo-coo. - That's SNL. You know, I've never actually watched my episode. I have the worst stage fright. SNL was my worst nightmare. (laughing) But also it was the most fun too because you're just surrounding yourself with hilarious people. They all are loving their job and it's a really incredible thing to be a part of. But I was petrified. My mouth literally, I remember it when I was going out to do my monologue, all of a sudden my mouth dried up and I think it's called cotton mouth. And I felt like my lips were sticking to the top of my teeth and that I was just talking with my teeth and I was, oh, it was terrifying. They change things as you're going. So, like they're holding up cue cards and they're writing things down and in the middle of it they'll just start kind of changing stuff. So, you're just have to like be on your toes and it's live. (Sydney inhaling and laughing) I need to go back so that I can have a, have a more like, open experience to it. I think I was just so nervous. So, I wanted to meet you Mr. King. - [Don] Well tell me about yourself. Jesse here says that you fight in all pink. - I'm from West Virginia. - What's that got to do with pink? - Nothing sir, I'm just telling you about myself. That is Christy Martin in "Christy". I definitely think that all of the prep from when I was younger, I started kickboxing and grappling when I was 12 until I was about 19. Unknowingly it was preparing me for the role of a lifetime and I'd never quite done something that intense before. I trained for about two and a half months beforehand and I gained 35 pounds for the role. That was a challenge in itself. But then once we started filming, I had to keep training. So, I'd work 14 hour days on the set, but then an hour before my call I'd work out and then usually two to three hours afterwards I'd be fight training and working out again. I did it all for Christy. When the paparazzi photos came out and it started becoming about my body, I was like, no, no, no, no, this is, this is for Christy. Like, I'm here to tell an amazing story. And it's so incredible that women have bodies that we can tell stories with and I think that's a superpower. And I wanted to redirect it to, no, this is actually a badass woman and what you see is incredible. - Thank you. - Are you hungry? I'm sure we can turn this dinner for three into a dinner for four. - No, I'm probably just gonna go upstairs and get all settled in. - You sure? - If you don't mind, I'll just come down afterwards and tidy up. - Yeah, get settled. Yeah, take your time. We're so happy that you're here. - You just let us know if you change your mind. - Thanks. That is Millie in "The Housemaid". I read the first one and then I listened to the audio books for the second and the third. - [Producer] What is that like, having a book as in one text, a script as another text? - I love it. The more information I have, the better. I did "Sharp Objects" and it was also a book as well, Gillian Flynn. And I love having the most material possible to be able to kind of dissect and do homework and piece things together. It makes it like a fun puzzle piece. I'm like the hugest Amanda Seyfried fan and when we were talking about different people to play Nina and Amanda was on the list, I was like, okay, done, doing it, come on, let's just, let's call her, I want her. She is, she's everything. We were in the production offices and we were going to do like a hair and makeup, wardrobe test. I was there already and then she came in and I was with my best friend Kaylee. And Kaylee stood up to take to give Amanda a hug and her phone got caught in the back of the chair and when she stood up, the chair was stuck to her and she was the funniest thing. 'cause she gives Amanda a hug with the chair in her ass. It's really funny, but it just kind of was like the start of our really like silly fun bond all of us. - [Producer] If Christy, Millie, Cassie and you had a group chat, what would you name that? - Probably a therapist. (laughing) Thanks so much for watching. Be sure to check out my Cosmo cover. (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues)

Sydney Sweeney takes us through 8 of her most iconic roles in this episode of "The Breakdown." From landing one of her first major TV gigs on 'Pretty Little Liars' to filming 'Euphoria' alongside Jacob Elordi, Zendaya, and more, Sweeney breaks down what it was really like auditioning for and stepping into each role. The star opens up about the behind-the-scenes moments that shaped her performances: from casting Amanda Seyfried to nerves on 'SNL' to auditioning for Quentin Tarantino alongside Brad Pitt for 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.' From 'The Housemaid' to 'The White Lotus' to 'Anyone But You,' watch to revisit some of our favorite roles.
 
Check out Sydney Sweeney's Cosmo Cover Story here: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/a70001220/sydney-sweeney-interview-2026/
 
#SydneySweeney #Euphoria #TheWhiteLotus #TheHousemaid #TheBreakdown #Cosmopolitan

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Sydney Sweeney Breaks Down 8 Scenes From SNL to The Housemaid to Euphoria | The Breakdown | Cosmo

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