Sydney Sweeneyis best known for her role inEuphoria, but she actually gave her best performance in an underrated movie from 2023. Though she kicked around for a few years playing bit parts in TV shows and movies, Sweeney began to land juicier roles around 2018 and hasn’t looked back since.
The aforementionedEuphoriamade her a household name, and it helped audiences rediscover a lot of her earlier work. In her brief career, she has worked with legends like Quentin Tarantino, and had massive box office success withAnyone But You.She’s also become something of an iconoclast, with her work on and off the screen being scrutinized.
Though Sweeney’s defining role is likely still in front of her, her most critically-acclaimed movie largely slipped by unnoticed. Proving she’s a force to be reckoned with on the dramatic front, Sweeney turned in a stellar performance in a 2023 film that deserves a second look.
Sydney Sweeney Plays The Titular Character In Reality
2023’sRealitywas released by HBO, and it mostly slipped by with little notice, though it did get a lot of positive attention from critics. Sweeney stars inthe title role as Reality Winner, an American intelligence specialist who wassentenced to a hefty jail term after she released information about Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
Realitywon the prestigious Peabody Award in 2024.
The brief character portrait started as a play, but makes use of the art of film to expand the story using clever narrative devices.The breaking of the fourth wallisreminiscent of other politically-charged films, but the movie’s cleverness never neglects Reality as a character. She’s fully fleshed-out, and it’s her motivations that drive the story.
Reality Winner Is Sydney Sweeney’s Most Acclaimed Movie Role
Though she’s found great acclaim on the small screen,Sydney Sweeney’s movie roles have been spotty at best. However,Realitybroke that trend and gave her a part she could truly sink into. The biopic drama let Sweeney stretch her wings, and the movie’s impressive reviews also had a lot of great things to say about her performance too.
By giving Sweeney a real-life person to play,Realityshattered any pre-conceived notions about the young actress, and also gave her an excellent script to work from.It was the first time in her career that she really needed to transform herself, andRealityallowed Sweeney to get away from her starlet image.
Sydney Sweeney Is About To Play Another Real Person In Christy
If Reality Winner was a stretch for Sydney Sweeney, thenher upcoming performance inChristycould be where she truly blossoms as a “serious” actor. Sweeney has stepped into the boots of American boxing legend Christy Martin, who helped to blaze a trail for women in combat sports in the 1980s.
The fighter, nicknamed “The Coal Miner’s Daughter”, is an even bigger physical transformation forSydney Sweeney, who had to bulk up with muscle and ditch her signature blonde locks. While the overall quality of the film remains a mystery, it proves that Sweeney is continuing to push her own boundaries, which will inevitably result in quality cinema.
