Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney says they “don’t pay actors like they used to”

Sydney Sweeney, who plays Cassie in the hit teen drama Euphoria, has recently discussed how actors struggle working for streaming platforms.

Sydney Sweeney, who plays the turbulent Cassie Howard in HBO’s Euphoria, recently discussed her salary in an interview, explaining how the majority of it goes to her team.

She also outlined how, despite her fame and success, she is unable to take any break from acting due to not having the income available for that.

This is apparently due to the way that streaming services have changed the way that actors are being payed: namely that they aren’t.

Sydney Sweeney doesn’t “have the income to cover” a break in between acting jobs

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Sweeney explained that while she makes a lot of money performing in shows such as Euphoria – she currently has an estimated net worth of $4 million and earned $350,000 for Euphoria Season 2 – she can’t afford to take a break, and this is due to the way that streaming services pay their actors.

“If I wanted to take a six-month break, I don’t have income to cover that. I don’t have someone supporting me. They don’t pay actors like they used to, and with streamers, you no longer get residuals.

“The established stars still get paid, but I have to give 5% to my lawyer, 10% to my agents, 3% or something like that to my business manager. I have to pay my publicist every month and that’s more than my mortgage.”

HBO Max

Sweeney feels like she has to always be working to survive.

Because of this, Sweeney feels pressured to have jobs constantly lined up. Alongside Euphoria, she also stars in the black comedy The White Lotus, and will next appear in the Spider-Man spin-off Madame Web. The actor said that she often “can’t sleep” due to this pressure.

Sweeney states that Hollywood is designed to “make you backstab people”

The star also went on to describe how she had never spoken to her Euphoria co-stars about her salary.

This is perhaps due to the environment of Hollywood, which she describes as being built “to make you backstab people,” as she had seen multiple people falsely claiming to support one another in the industry.

However, it seems like Sweeney is still able to hold her own in the world of Hollywood, as she was recently nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series for Euphoria, and Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie for The White Lotus.

Euphoria is currently available to stream on HBO Max.