Sydney Sweeney has great scenes.
When she’s not launching culture wars with her eyebrow-raising American Eagle denim ads or her controversial used bathwater soaps, Sweeney, 27, is among the most in-demand young actresses working in Hollywood. The Spokane, Washington, native cut her teeth in pulpy horror movies such as “Nocturne” and “The Voyeurs,” and gained impressive TV cred in acclaimed dramas “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Sharp Objects.”
But it was her highly memeable turns in HBO’s “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus” that made her a two-time Emmy-nominated force, which she followed with 2023’s rom-com megahit “Anyone But You,” co-starring fellow rising star (and speculated paramour) Glen Powell.
With public interest higher than ever, the toothsome Sweeney is headed into the biggest movie season of her career so far, with high-profile roles in Ron Howard’s survival thriller “Eden” (in theaters Aug. 22) and book adaptation “The Housemaid” (in theaters Christmas Day). She also transforms into boxer Christy Martin for biopic “Christy,” premiering at Toronto Film Festival in September.
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But first, there’s “Americana” (in theaters Aug. 15), Tony Tost’s baffling riff on a Coen Brothers-style shoot-‘em-up. Sweeney plays a meek diner waitress named Penny Jo, who dreams of becoming a country singer and gets caught up in a bloody battle for a pricey Native American relic. The actress struggles to find her footing in the messy genre mashup, speaking with an exaggerated stammer and failing to light sparks with Paul Walter Hauser as the infatuated Lefty.
“Americana” may be yet another misstep for Sweeney, although she does have at least a few gems in her limited filmography. Here are her best movies, ranked:
5. ‘Under the Silver Lake’ (2018)
Sweeney doesn’t have much screen time in “Under the Silver Lake,” a surreal dark comedy following Andrew Garfield as he searches for his missing neighbor (Riley Keough). The actress affably plays a flirtatious model whom Garfield encounters at a graveyard party, donning bedazzled makeup a year before “Euphoria” made it a mainstream trend.
Here’s why: Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle jeans ad sparks controversy
4. ‘Madame Web’ (2024)
Sweeney hasn’t had many opportunities to show off her range, and her performances are often painfully stilted (“Anyone But You”) or wildly overwrought (“Echo Valley”). But her flat intonation and vocal fry are perfectly suited to Marvel’s campy critical misfire, playing a demure yet powerful teenager who’s taken under the wing of Dakota Johnson’s equally spacey Cassie. We’re still not over her delivery of, “You saved my stepmother, then you were super-awkward about it.”
3. ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ (2019)
Quentin Tarantino’s love letter to Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and 1960s Los Angeles is far and away the best film on Sweeney’s resumé. Unlike her now-famous co-stars Mikey Madison, Austin Butler and Margaret Qualley, Sweeney doesn’t have much to do as Snake, one of the feral flower children living with Charles Manson (Damon Herriman). Still, she has a beguiling presence and fits the earthy, subtly menacing vibe of Manson’s ranch dwellers.
2. ‘Immaculate’ (2024)
Similarly to “Madame Web,” Sweeney knows exactly what kind of movie she’s in and completely nails the outrageous, deadpan tone. Here she portrays a wide-eyed novitiate who gets trapped at a creepy Italian convent after becoming pregnant with a child the other nuns believe to be the second coming of Jesus Christ. The up-and-comer goes all in as the film careens toward its gleefully gory finale, proving her scream queen bona fides with a commanding, vanity-free performance.
1. ‘Reality’ (2023)
Sweeney disappears into the role of Reality Winner in this gripping HBO film, which pulls from actual FBI transcripts as the whistleblower is ruthlessly interrogated about leaking classified government information. The actress brings a startling mix of intensity and fear to her unwavering heroine, and shows that with a knockout script, she is capable of so much more than she is often given.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sydney Sweeney’s best movies ranked, ahead of ‘Americana’
