Sydney Sweeney Learned She’d Been Cast in ‘Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood’ at a Party
For Sydney Sweeney, securing a spot in the Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood cast was a dream come true. Not only did it afford the actor the opportunity to work with renowned filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, but she also got to work with a number of A-list actors. Sweeney had long since dreamed of working with Leonardo DiCaprio, and playing Snake in the 2019 film gave her the ability to do just that. But booking the role was far from an easy feat. Sweeney went through a rigorous audition process to secure her role in the cast.
What was the audition process like for some members of the ‘Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood’ cast?
Sweeney went through multiple rounds of auditions before she was officially cast in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. However, the process was unique in that Sweeney initially auditioned for a generic role. Once she passed the first round of auditions, she was invited to a workshop with Tarantino. Only then did Tarantino consider her for a number of different roles, including the one she ultimately booked.
“Quentin had this amazing session with a few actors,” Sweeney shared with Coveteur about her callback for Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. “They brought us to his office for a six-hour workshop with him. It was a chemistry read—he would work with us and then switch us off, and we all had lunch together. I left that room feeling totally OK if I didn’t get it because of that experience. The things he said were so kind and supportive, and I was like, Yes, I love this industry.”
Sydney Sweeney found out she’d booked the Quentin Tarantino film at a party, but she couldn’t talk about it for months
Ultimately, Sweeney did book a role in the cast. While attending a party the same night as her callback, she ran into the casting director for Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. They let her know then that she’d book the highly-coveted role.
However, Sweeney couldn’t celebrate the way she wanted to. Since Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood hadn’t been announced yet, she remained tight-lipped for months. “What sucked was I wasn’t allowed to say anything until the press release came out, which wasn’t until August,” Sweeney explained to W Magazine. “And I booked it the first week in June.”
Sweeney gushes about working with Tarantino on ‘Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood’
But the secrecy was well worth the price of admission. Sweeney had nothing but the best things to say about working on Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. In particular, she championed Tarantino and the environment that he was able to create on his set. The MMA fighter recalled the director really taking his time in every scene, never rushing the artistic process.
“Just listening to the stories he would tell, and seeing how he would work and not having to worry about the next scene, just really focusing on the art we were making right then and there, making sure that we’re happy before we move on,” Sweeney shared with Yahoo! Entertainment about life on the Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood set. Asked specifically about her thoughts on Tarantino, she waxed poetic. “What can I not say?” Sweeney stated. “He’s incredible, it was an absolute dream to work with him.”
