Sydney Sweeney's Nude Scenes In Euphoria Made Her Feel 'More Powerful' - Here's Why

Sydney Sweeney's star is massively on the rise thanks to "Anyone But You" blowing up at the box office, not to mention her upcoming turn into superhero territory with "Madame Web." However, arguably her breakout role was as Cassie Howard on HBO's "Euphoria." The series and Sweeney's character specifically have received criticism for the amount of nudity and sexual content featured. Sweeney has spoken about her nude scenes on the show in the past, and she described them as being "empowering."

In a profile of the actor in The Washington Post, Sweeney revealed that she was self-conscious about her body when she was younger, but that has changed. "I actually feel more powerful with my body," she explained. "I feel more confident. I feel more free."

For Sweeney, it also appears that her working relationship with the "Euphoria" creatives contributes to that sense of empowerment. She mentioned in the profile that she once pushed back on a planned nude scene to "Euphoria" creator Sam Levinson: "I said, 'Sam, I don't think that she needs to be naked in the scene and I don't feel comfortable doing it. Everyone's just going to look at my boobs and not actually take the scene seriously for the content that's happening.'" Levinson agreed, and the scene was changed. 

The controversy surrounding the series is understandable; people don't want a young performer being taken advantage of. But it appears Sweeney doesn't mind being naked on screen as long as it's actually beneficial to the narrative and her character.

Sydney Sweeney's nude scenes have earned a good deal of online ire. She spoke with GQ UK about how some "Euphoria" viewers have tagged her own family members in posts featuring screenshots of her nude scenes. "It got to the point where they were tagging my family," she said. "My cousins don't need that. It's completely disgusting and unfair." In a way, it's life imitating art, as Cassie's arc on "Euphoria" sees her navigating a world that treats her as a sex object. But Sweeney tries not to let the negative attention get her down: "I'm an artist, I play characters. It makes me want to play characters that piss people off more."

It seems that ultimately for Sweeney, the important thing is that she both believes in the part she's playing and that she does not feel pressured to do anything she doesn't feel comfortable doing. It sounds like "Euphoria" provides that, as Sweeney has praised the intimacy coordinators on the show while talking with Christina Ricci for Variety's Actors on Actors series. 

"It's a very safe environment," she proclaimed. "I'm very fortunate that I am coming up during a time where there is so much thought in this process, and we now have intimacy coordinators." 

Sweeney went on to say in her talk with Ricci, "I have weirdly become very confident with my body through Cassie."