Sydney Sweeney, who plays Cassie in HBO's hit teen drama Euphoria, had to go through a slew of rejections before she started getting cast in significant roles that allowed her to shine.
It wasn't an easy journey for the 24-year-old actress, who experienced crying herself to sleep because of seld-doubt. At one point, she almost gave up on her dreams.
Now, the blonde beauty is considered one of the rising stars of her generation. See how Sydney Sweeney overcame her troubles to reach stardom.
Sweeney knew she wanted to be an actress at a young age. When she was only 12 years old, she made her case by creating a PowerPoint presentation to convince her parents to let her pursue her dream and relocate the family to Los Angeles.
“My parents thought it was a crazy dream, but when I showed them [the presentation], they saw it was a very mature, put together form of expressing myself,” Sweeney shared in an interview with W Magazine.
Before her fame, Sweeney went through a lot of rejections, which almost made her give up.
“There were many, many years where I got told ‘No’ endlessly,” she shared to The Associated Press, where she made the list of Breakthrough Entertainers of 2021.
“I got told I wasn’t good enough, I would never make it, I wasn’t pretty enough — all the time. And my parents were like, ‘Are we doing the right thing?’”
Keep scrolling to watch Sweeney as Cassie in Euphoria Season 2.
The young actress' determination paid off because pretty soon, she finally got her big break in Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, where she played Eden - a small but memorable role that opened up more opportunities for her.
Sweeney shares that one of the best things about her success is being able to give back to her parents.
“We grew up bumming on the lake and not taking showers and no TV and no internet,” Sweeney said.
“A lot of my family, we did not come from much of anything, and being able to give them a little slice of this world, that’s what means the most to me... Those are the biggest pinch-me moments."
In 2019, Sweeney was introduced as Cassie on HBO's teen drama Euphoria. Although her character is often misjudged for her sexy persona, Sweeney was able to add depth and charm to her character, and even turned the blonde cheerleader into a fan favorite.
“Cassie spoke to me on a different level, so I was able to find a depth to her. I hope that the different characters I play speak to people on a deeper level, whether it’s through one decision or one moment in their onscreen lives,” Sweeney explained.
Watch Sweeney as Cassie on season 2 of Euphoria:
