Sydney Sweeney Hopes People Won’t View Reality Winner’s Case ‘Through a Partisan Lens’

Sydney Sweeney is certainly making good use of her break from Euphoria. Since filming for season 2 wrapped, the actor has announced and filmed quite a few projects. One of those projects is the film Reality, which recently premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film tells the real-life story of whistleblower, Reality Winner. Winner, of course, was a former linguist for the Air Force who was charged with leaking evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 Election of Donald Trump. Naturally, Winner’s case has become highly politicized, but Sweeney is hoping that viewers can put politics aside when it comes to the film.

How Sydney Sweeney prepared for her role in ‘Reality’

Thus far, Sweeney has received rave reviews for her performance in Reality. Some critics feel that the actor has cemented her status as a movie star with the film. Considering the amount of prep work that Sweeney did for the film, it’s not surprising that people are responding positively to her performance. In preparation for the 16-day shoot, the Washington native pored over any real-life interviews that she could find of Winner. She also had a chance to communicate with Winner personally, and that too helped her to mimic the whistleblower’s mannerisms.

But studying Winner wasn’t all that Sweeney did. She also created one of her famous character books in preparation for her role in Reality. The MMA fighter also did her best to embrace Winner’s physicality by adopting a similar exercise regimen. She took up yoga since Winner was a yoga teacher and also worked with a trainer, lifting weights in order to bulk up.

The movie star hopes that people will view the film without a partisan lens

Though Sweeney hadn’t heard of Winner or her case until she got the audition for Reality, she certainly thinks the story was worth telling. She’s hopeful that the film will give viewers a new lens through which to view the infamous case. While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Sweeney revealed that she hopes people can see this as a human story, rather than just a political one.

“I think that the film has such a unique approach by telling Reality’s story in such an emotional and human way, and I hope that instead of reducing her to just a headline, or interpreting the case through a partisan lens, that this movie can offer a window into what this woman went through on that day, and what she had to endure for her own decisions,” she shared.

What are Sweeney’s personal politics?

Sweeney’s comments aren’t too surprising, considering she’s tried to remain politically neutral throughout the course of her career. While speaking with Flaunt Magazine, the actor-producer admitted that she doesn’t enjoy talking about politics publicly. “I don’t like getting into political topics,” she stated candidly. Of course, that hasn’t stopped people from making assumptions about what party Sweeney might support privately.

Last year, Sweeney made headlines after she threw her mom a surprise party for her 60th birthday. Sweeney posted photos of the hoedown-themed affair to her social media profiles. However, it didn’t take long for fans to discover other photos from the event. People took note that some of Sweeney’s loved ones were wearing MAGA-inspired hats. This led people to assume that Sweeney and her family were Trump supporters. However, Sweeney quickly hopped online to tell fans and critics alike to “stop making assumptions.” The actor has since neglected to speak on the matter. So, it looks like the Reality star is content to keep her personal politics to herself.