Forget ‘Euphoria,’ ‘The White Lotus’ Made Sydney Sweeney a Star

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Sydney Sweeney is one of the most popular actresses working today, and she earned her success through hard work. Starting her career in 2009, she steadily gained recognition with roles in TV shows like In the Vault, Everything Sucks!, Sharp Objects, and The Handmaid’s Tale. She became a household name playing Cassie Howard in the hit HBO drama Euphoria. While fans await Season 3 of Euphoria in 2026, another HBO series demonstrated Sweeney’s potential as a rising star.

Sydney Sweeney gained recognition two years after her debut in Euphoria with her role as a particularly unpleasant and privileged college student in the first season of HBO’s popular drama, The White Lotus. Despite having limited screen time amongst a cast of established actors, Sweeney skillfully portrayed a character viewers loved to hate, hinting at a remarkable talent beyond her striking looks.

Sydney Sweeney’s Role as Olivia Mossbacher in ‘The White Lotus’ Is Still Her Best

The first season of The White Lotus, created and directed by Mike White, centers around a group of very wealthy guests staying at a fancy Hawaiian resort. The show opens by revealing a dead body, and then unfolds to explore the events leading up to the possible murder.

The Mossbacher family is one of the more unsettling groups at the resort. Sydney Sweeney played Olivia Mossbacher, the family’s sharp-tongued, condescending college student who mostly hangs by the pool. She spends her time making fun of the other guests with her friend, Paula (Brittany O’Grady). Sweeney perfectly captured the character of a spoiled and cynical young woman, whether she was picking on her brother Quinn (Fred Hechinger), being disrespectful to her parents, interfering with Paula’s love life, or making cutting remarks about others, like Rachel (Alexandra Daddario).

It was cruel of Olivia to make her brother sleep on the beach and share a large hotel room with her. But her behavior gets even worse when she sees Paula with a hotel employee – she becomes incredibly jealous and spiteful. Olivia not only spies on Paula but also breaks her trust and attempts to take Paula’s boyfriend. Ultimately, Paula confronts Olivia, pointing out how sheltered and privileged her life has been.

‘The White Lotus’ Took Sydney Sweeney’s Career to New Heights

A truly talented actor playing a villain can make the audience genuinely despise their character. Sydney Sweeney did just that with her portrayal of Olivia in The White Lotus. She convincingly played a spoiled, shallow, and cynical college student, embodying all the negative traits of a privileged and immature teenager. This role was a departure from her work as Cassie in Euphoria, where she played a much more relatable and sympathetic, emotionally vulnerable teen. Playing a villain like Olivia is a more challenging task because it requires convincing the audience to actively dislike the character.

While fans waited for the third season of Euphoria, Sydney Sweeney’s appearance on The White Lotus significantly boosted her career, establishing her as a leading movie star. Since then, she’s acted in nine films and also taken on producing roles in several of them, including Anyone But You, Immaculate, Christy, and The Housemaid. The Housemaid was so popular that a sequel, The Handmaid’s Secret, is now in production, with Sweeney also producing.

I’m so excited to see what Zendaya does next! Besides Euphoria Season 3, she’s incredibly busy. She’s currently filming a live-action Gundam movie, which sounds amazing, and a period piece called Custom of the Country. Plus, she’s starring in and producing a sci-fi fantasy film with John M. Chu called Split Fiction, and a true crime drama, I Pretended to Be a Missing Girl. There are even rumors she’s going to play Kim Novak in a biopic called Scandalous! – seriously, this woman is taking on so many diverse roles, it’s awesome!

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2026-04-07 23:02