Why did Sydney Sweeney say she could never act on stage? Actress’s latest interview with Ethan Hawke explored

Sydney Sweeney believes she is not theatre actor material because she has “terrible” stage fright. The 28-year-old actress was featured on the December 11, 2025, episode of Variety’s Actors on Actors alongside famed actor Ethan Hawke, where she discussed her acting journey and roles that have impacted her.
 

Hawke expressed his love for stage acting, adding that the actor usually has all the power to express his art the way he chooses without editing or cuts from the director and editor:

"The great thing about plays is that the editor doesn’t mess them up. The director doesn’t mess it up. I control whether it goes fast or slow. If I want this scene to be angry, it doesn’t matter what the director says; it’s gonna be angry,"

He added:

"They’re not gonna sit in the edit room and change it. That sounds aggressive and hostile, but there’s a great Fran McDormand quote: “I don’t need a great director. I need a good editor."

When asked if she had experience acting on the stage, Sweeney responded negatively:

“I have horrible stage fright. Terrible stage fright.”

Hawke advised that if she tried stage acting, she would no longer experience stage fright:

"If you did it five times, it would go away. Because I’ve seen so much of your work, and you’re just an excellent actor. I think you would enjoy it."

“Euphoria was the beginning of everything for me": Sydney Sweeney  talks about her breakout role in her latest interview 

Sweeney, who achieved international fame for her role as Cassie in the HBO teen drama series, described her experience playing the character:

“Euphoria” was the beginning of everything for me. Cassie is a very emotional and heart-driven character, so I had to be very free with every choice that I made."

The Gracie award winner spoke about not questioning herself as she dove deep into her character and tried new things:

"Sam [Levinson] would always go, “All right, let’s just do a Cassie crazy take.” And they were always our favorite takes because we would let all rules go and lose yourself to it."

Sweeney, who recently played Christy, the legendary boxer, in the 2025 biopic, expressed that she was proud to have played the character and enjoyed the fighting sequence in the movie.

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