Sydney Sweeney says her White Lotus character hasn’t read those books

One of the key traits of snotty college duo Olivia (Sydney Sweeney) and Paula (Brittany O’Grady) on HBO’s The White Lotus is their choice of poolside reading. They skim Nietzsche and Freud when they’re not glancing sideways and throwing scathing comments about those around them.

Later they also pick up Frantz Fanon, Camille Paglia and Aimé Césaire. But Sweeney, speaking at the ATX TV Festival in Austin on Saturday, revealed something more about the character: she believes it’s all an act. “Oh, she hasn’t actually read any of those books,” Sweeney told host Danielle Turchiano.

Sweeney said she was at least excited to read those books on set — only to learn they were props. “They were empty!” she said. The overall experience of the series, particularly the show’s heavy dose of humor, was a delight for the actor. “Jennifer Coolidge and Murray Bartlett are two of the funniest people I’ve ever met and I hope to work with them again,” she said.

As for the ending of “The White Lotus,” Sweeney appreciated seeing a glimmer of humanity in Olivia, which she said, “That was a good ending for me, she’s got a little bit in it, there might be hope for her . I hope she and Paula can continue to be friends.”

There are obviously more loose ends on “Euphoria” as this show goes on. “Cassie got on my nerves at times,” but being an actor means going places you wouldn’t go yourself, she said.

Does Cassie have to make up for Euphoria? “I enjoy going crazy. So I kind of hope she’s still a little crazy. Cassie has her making amends.” And while she might be a little far off, Sweeney added at the end, “I hope one day she loves herself.” For now, Sweeney said she continues to enjoy the character’s “weirdness.” will.

Sweeney said she grew up confident with her education and being the smartest person in the room, but not so much with social situations. That has improved these days, although social media has proven to be a double-edged sword.

“I have a love-hate relationship with social media,” she said. “I didn’t grow up with it. I don’t think I had an Instagram until I was 16. I grew up in a beautiful area in the Northwest by a lake and when I came to LA people’s values ​​were so very different than where I grew up and need to learn how important social media is, especially in this one Industry, it’s been a learning curve.”

Sweeney said she “used to miss projects because I didn’t have as many followers as anyone else. I’ve only just started there.”

Asked about her family’s reaction to “Euphoria” and its rather shocking moments, Sweeney admitted it’s been a journey. She had originally booked a Netflix project when the Euphoria script got in her way, but after speaking to series creator Sam Levinson, “I started crying on the phone because this character for become so beautiful and important to me and I knew I had to take it.”

She told her mom not to tell her grandmother to watch — but anyway, her dad and grandparents started watching Euphoria together.

“They didn’t get very far,” she said. “My father is scarred now. I told him he can see ‘White Lotus’!”