‘The White Lotus’: Sydney Sweeney Built an ‘100-Page Journal’ for Olivia
Throughout the course of her career, Sydney Sweeney has taken on her fair share of roles. The actor-producer has piqued interest on both the big screen and on TV. But perhaps one of her most memorable roles to date has been Olivia Mossbacher in The White Lotus. Playing the snarky college sophomore even earned Sweeney an Emmy nomination. But how did she prepare for the role? Turns out the process was incredibly intricate.
Sydney Sweeney had never done comedy before ‘The White Lotus’
Considering Sweeney’s performance in The White Lotus, her fans may be surprised to learn that it was her very first foray into comedy. The actor’s inexperience with the genre made her nervous. However, it may have very well been a part of the reason that she was cast. The White Lotus’ creator, Mike White, has shared that one of the reasons Sweeney’s audition stood out was because she wasn’t trying to make her character funny. However, the bite she gave Olivia was inherently humorous.
The actor built a detailed character bible for Olivia Mossbacher
But even after Sweeney booked her role, she put herself through a pretty brutal preparation process in order to become Olivia. To do this, she created a detailed character bible of Olivia’s entire life story. “I have 100-page journals on each of my characters,” Sweeney shared with Who What Wear. “I literally build from the hospital, from the day they’re born and the daycare that they go to. Olivia, for instance, had a nanny that took her on when she was 4 years old.”
Why Sweeney swears by her character journals
The process may seem intricate, but the payoff is more than worth it for Sweeney. Building such a meticulous book allowed her to fully embody her character and helped her differentiate Olivia from others. Furthermore, it not only helps her get into the mentality of her character but the physicality as well.
“The reason we sit a certain way, or we look at a person a certain way, it all comes from some memory from our past that we may not be able to put our finger on,” Sweeney explained. “But it’s what made us who we are today. I build all of these things in this character, and it makes it so that I don’t even have to truly think about how Olivia is going to react. How is Olivia going to speak? It allows me to become this character without having to think about the scene, and I can just live in it.”
Sweeney was able to learn from members of ‘The White Lotus’ cast
Clearly, the prep work paid off for Sweeney. However, the actor also admitted that working in close proximity to seasoned comedic pros was a huge help to her also. She learned a lot from watching people like Jennifer Coolidge and gained a deeper understanding of the way comedy works. In fact, The Players Table producer hopes to do more comedic work in the future. Considering how booked and busy she’s been lately, we imagine it’s only a matter of time before she gets her wish.
