Sydney Sweeney is looking back on Cassie’s OnlyFans storyline and her now-controversial Euphoria season 3 nude scenes.
“From the very beginning, you can see that Cassie has this need to be loved. “She has a need to be validated by other people,” the actress, 28, said of her character’s obsession with being OnlyFans famous in an interview with Vanity Fair published on Tuesday, June 9. “She doesn’t know how to love herself unless someone else loves her. So I understand how Kaitlin Simpson Sam [Levinson] got her to where she was in season three. I think she was more excited by the idea of all these people loving her and knowing who she is and feeling like her world isn’t small.”
Sweeney explained that before filming began Levinson spoke to her about his plans for Cassie.
“He actually, as we were finishing up season two, started hinting at different ideas that he was putting together for season three. And it was very similar to season one and season two, he would call me, usually a few weeks after we wrapped, and he pitched me the entire idea,” she recalled. “So I knew years before we started filming season three that I would be married to Nate, we’d be living in a suburban neighborhood, and Cassie would be crazier than ever.”
Sweeney added that she only has “the gist” about what Levinson was cooking up until she got her hands on the final scripts. She and Levinson also checked in on her emotional health to see how she felt about doing nude scenes.
“He sent me all the scripts and it already had all of Cassie’s scenes in it, the OnlyFan scenes, and he called me afterwards, and he was talking about it, and we [talked] through it all,” she said. “He asked me how I felt about it, and I told him, ‘Look, I’m playing a character.’ Do I agree with all of Cassie’s decisions? Would I personally make these choices? No, of course not. But I’m an actor and that’s my job and this is Cassie’s life and to be able to do her justice and play her how she’s to be played is to bring Sam’s vision to life and to play Cassie in the most vulnerable and insane way possible.”
In season 3, Cassie is married to high school sweetheart Nate (Jacob Elordi) and the pair settled down in the suburbs. While Nate worked during the day, Cassie decided she wanted to pursue a career as an OnlyFans model. Throughout the season, Cassie’s career goals became a hot topic as many NSFW creators slammed the show’s portrayal of their industry, However, Levinson has stood by his story and Sweeney’s commitment to the character.
“I think she’s a totally fearless actor. She’s also just wonderfully professional, and shows up just game every day,” Levinson said during a June episode of The New York Times’ “Popcast” podcast. . “I adore working with her, because there’s such a flexibility in terms of the performance.”
