Sydney Sweeney Weighs in on Her Character’s Polarizing Storyline on ‘Euphoria’

The actress has opened up about Cassie Howard's wild final chapter in "Euphoria," and what it really took to bring Sam Levinson's vision to life.

Sydney Sweeney has opened up about her storyline in the third and final season of the HBO hit "Euphoria." Throughout the series, the 28-year-old portrayed the volatile and deeply complicated Cassie Howard.

In the third season, which premiered last month, Cassie pursues a career as an OnlyFans model with the help of her frenemy Maddie Perez, played by Alexa Demie. Many of her scenes involve nudity and more than a few questionable decisions.

Cassie's arc ends with the young model still grinding away — despite the violent death of her husband Nate (Jacob Elordi), the loss of her high school friend Rue (Zendaya), and the dismantling of her OnlyFans account.

"From the very beginning, you can see that Cassie has this need to be loved," Sweeney said in a Vanity Fair interview published on Tuesday. "She has a need to be validated by other people. She doesn't know how to love herself unless someone else loves her.

"So I understand how Sam got her to where she was in season three," she continued. "I think she was more excited by the idea of all these people loving her and knowing who she is and feeling like her world isn't small."

Sweeney also revealed that she had candid conversations with show creator Sam Levinson about her more intimate scenes before filming began on the new season.

"He sent me all the scripts and it already had all of Cassie's scenes in it, the OnlyFan scenes, and he called me afterwards, and he was talking about it, and we talking through it all," she recalled.

"He asked me how I felt about it, and I told him, 'Look, I'm playing a character.' Do I agree with all of Cassie's decisions? Would I personally make these choices? No, of course not."

"But I'm an actor and that's my job and this is Cassie's life and to be able to do her justice and play her how she's to be played is to bring Sam's vision to life and to play Cassie in the most vulnerable and insane way possible," Sweeney said.

Levinson also addressed the matter in a separate interview on The New York Times' "Popcast." When first writing the script, he admitted he briefly considered shooting around the more explicit material, wondering whether nudity could be avoided altogether.

"And she looked at me and she was like, 'Are you kidding? I'm playing an OnlyFans model. You're telling me you're going to like, skirt around it?' And I was like, yeah, OK, that's a fair point. I think she's a totally fearless actor," he recalled.

Levinson said he adored working with Sweeney, expressing admiration for her professionalism and willingness to commit fully to the role's more demanding aspects — a dedication that has cemented her "sex symbol" status in recent years.

It's a label Sweeney has leaned into, having launched both a soap infused with her bathwater and her own lingerie line. But she isn't stopping there — she's also building out a new production company and has her sights set on directing.