Sydney Sweeney has been all the rage in Hollywood these days. The actress broke out with 2019’s “Euphoria” and has now graduated to feature films.
And yet, Hollywood producer Carol Baum doesn't understand all the buzz surrounding Sweeney. During a recent NY screening Q&A of Cronenberg’s “Dead Ringers,” which she produced, Baum claimed Sweeney, 26, “can't act” and “isn't pretty.
Baum reportedly told the audience, “I don’t get Sydney Sweeney […] Explain this girl to me. She’s not pretty. She can’t act. Why is she so hot?”
Referring to “Anyone But You,” in which Sweeney starred opposite Glen Powell, Baum said, “I wanted to know who she is and why everybody’s talking about her,” and “I found the film unwatchable.”
What Baum really wants to say, and that she’s painstakingly holding back, is that Sweeney is actually famous for her wonderful rack. That’s the hot take I keep seeing on social media, and I’m not going to get into it because a) yes, Sweeney’s breasts are spectacular and b) that’s not why she’s become so popular.
Sweeney’s first real hit was last December’s “Anyone But You,” a total trifle of a film that somehow found an audience, grossing $220 million worldwide on a skimp $25 million budget. Sweeney can also be seen in Neon’s recent low-budget horror hit “Immaculate,” which cost $9 million to produce and has, so far, grossed $21 million.
I was very skeptical about her acting abilities, but Sweeney completely won me over with her work in last year’s “Reality.” She is flat out great in that film, delving deeply into the vulnerability of her character, a real-life NSA whistleblower who was thrown in jail by government. Here’s what I wrote about the performance in April 2023:
Sweeney makes you feel the anxiety that invaded Reality’s system that day. There is extraordinary range in her performance, her character says very little, but every word is uttered with considerable artfulness. Her face also says everything we need to know about the character: the eyes, the twitchy wording, all as her her mental state collapses before us.
She can act. End of story.