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Sydney Sweeney puts on a good front on and off of the screens we’ve grown accustomed to seeing her on. When she’s on the clock at her production company, Fifty-Fifty Films, she’s tough as nails and seeping with confidence. Whatever it takes to mold a project into its best possible form, she’ll do it, without fear or reservation. The same goes for when she steps in front of the camera, no matter how scary the scene she’s there to act out is written. But while her latest role as Cecilia in Neon’s just-released horror film Immaculate shows Sweeney portraying resilience until the very end, after my hour-long conversation with her following Who What Wear’s April cover shoot, I know for a fact that the 26-year-old actor and producer isn’t immune to some of the more frightening things in life. To celebrate her new gore-filled flick, I asked Sweeney about all of the things that rattle her, and her answers didn’t disappoint. From tight spaces and slasher movies to red carpets and Instagram comments, read all about it below.
After you’re finished, listen to our full conversation on this week’s episode of Who What Wear, where Sweeney shared the characters she’s most excited to bring to life next, the weirdest parts of being famous, and the detailed process that she and her stylist, Molly Dickson, follow to create their iconic red carpet ensembles. (Yes, it involves mood boards, and no, she’s not making her private Pinterest account public.) And those are just the highlights. Scroll down for more Sydney Sweeney, and check out her latest release, Immaculate, in theaters now.
Horror movies? What’s your favorite type?
I feel like it depends on my mood. I’m really into gore, and I’ll want it to be a giant slasher film, or it’s like, what’s in the darkness? You know? Like, you curl up underneath your blankets and the suspense is killing you and you don’t know what’s gonna pop out behind the corner.
Confrontation. Are you scared of it?
Am I scared of confrontation? It depends on the subject and with whom.
Is it easier for work or personal?
Yes. Easier for work. 1000%.
Social media rumors?
I mean, at this point, they’re just laughable. I can’t escape them every single day. It’s insane.
Getting stuck on a deserted island?
I think I could survive, so I’m not scared of it.
Large crowds?
Terrified.
Horrible. Get out of them as fast as possible. What about tight spaces?
Hmm, I used to not be scared of tight spaces. But now…
Now that you’ve watched the opening clip of Immaculate…
Exactly. Now I’m not really for ’em.
Just midsize rooms. Red carpets?
Leading up to them, I am terrified. I get so anxious. I get so nervous. I feel like I’m gonna throw up. It’s the worst feeling. Then, the moment you step on them, I’m good. It’s this weird thing—you know what’s going to happen. It’s the same [every time]. There’s just this weird anxiety that hits you. I’m always a little wobbly on my feet on the carpet because I’m still a little nervous.
(Image credit: MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)
(Image credit: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for GLAAD)
What do you think it is about it?
There are actually a lot of things. One, you can’t control the image. When you see a photo in a magazine, there’s so much that goes into making that a really good photo. First of all, lighting. Lighting is key, and a lot of times on these carpets, for whatever reason, the lighting is shit. They cannot figure out the lighting or the photographers aren’t using flash. So it looks horrible—like absolutely terrible. And people put a lot of hard work into putting a whole look together on a celebrity. You have the tailoring, the designer, the stylists, makeup artists, hair artists—all of it. And then you go to a carpet and the coloring of the backdrop is horrible and then the lighting is terrible. And then people are calling stuff out on social media, being like, Oh, she looks horrible, or, Her makeup’s shit, or, Her hair’s shit. And it’s like, no, it’s just because they didn’t use flash on a camera. It’s as simple as that: There’s no flash. And you had overhead lighting. Of course, it’s gonna look terrible. I don’t care who you are. You could be the most gorgeous human being in the entire world, and it’s not going to look great. So that’s really hard. And I can’t reply that to every comment on social media to get them to understand how it all works. But that’s always nerve-racking. You put so much work behind a look and you’re so excited and you feel so good, and then the photos are terrible. And that’s hard.
I also get so nervous that I’m going to trip and fall all the time because shoes.
Heels…
Also heels. Your feet are dying. But also, a lot of sample shoes that are loaned to stylists or go with a look are a size 38 or 40—a European size—and I’m a 6.5, which I think is a 37. So my feet don’t fit in these shoes, so we’re stuffing them with toilet paper and adding holes to make the ankles tighter because it’s required to wear the shoes. I can’t trade the shoes out—I have to wear the shoes no matter what, even if they don’t fit me. These designers don’t care. So I get so scared that I’m going to trip or my shoe is going to fall off. That’s a big anxiety right there.
Well, you never show it. And I watch a lot of red carpets.
Thank you, thank you.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Next, check out our Levi’s spring/summer trends episode.