Hollywood Icon Says Sydney Sweeney Is the Wrong Choice for Their Upcoming Biopic — Here’s Why

Alright, here we go: Sydney Sweeney, best known for turning heads on Euphoria (and recently in The Housemaid), has set her sights on a seriously ambitious task—she's taking on the role of classic Hollywood legend Kim Novak in an upcoming biopic called Scandalous! But if you thought this was going to be another run-of-the-mill Oscar-bait movie, well, things have already gotten messy. In fact, Novak—who's still around at 93—has some big reservations. Not just about Sweeney playing her, but about the film's entire approach.

The Real Kim Novak Story (And Why the Movie's Already Drawing Fire)

For anyone not up on mid-century movie icons, Kim Novak was huge in the 1950s and 60s: Picnic, Pal Joey, and especially Hitchcock’s Vertigo (which, if you haven’t seen, you should add to your list). This new movie is supposed to cover one of the most controversial chapters of Novak's personal life: her relationship with singer and actor Sammy Davis Jr.

The reason that romance made headlines back in the day? It was the 1950s—and interracial relationships were still a major taboo in Hollywood and America at large. Scandalous! is clearly betting folks are interested in these old-school forbidden-love stories, following the recent trend of dramatized real-life couples (think Ryan Murphy’s new Hulu show about JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette).

Sweeney, Domingo, and a Very Surprising Casting Controversy

Sweeney isn’t just starring—she’s also producing the film, and she even lured her Euphoria costar Colman Domingo over to direct. (He’s making his directing debut here.) If you’re wondering who’s playing Sammy, that’s David Jonsson, a British actor you might know from Industry. As of now, financing is being raised, but there’s no release date.

Here’s where it gets, let’s just say, unusually candid for these kinds of projects. Novak herself has not been quiet about her misgivings. Last fall, she went on record saying, 'I don’t think the relationship was scandalous. He’s somebody I really cared about. We had so much in common, including that need to be accepted for who we are and what we do, rather than how we look. But I’m concerned they’re going to make it all sexual reasons.' Her main complaint: the filmmakers are focusing on what was tabloid fodder, rather than the actual emotional heart of the relationship.

But Novak just went further, this time with The Times of London. She was openly unimpressed with the casting:

'I would never have approved,' Novak said. 'She sticks out so much above the waist. There’s no way it wouldn’t be a sexual relationship because Sydney Sweeney looks sexy all the time. She was totally wrong to play me.'

In other words, Novak thinks Sweeney’s screen presence is so hyper-sexualized that it makes it impossible to depict a relationship that isn’t just about sex. Subtlety? Not happening here.

No official response from Sweeney (yet). For her part, she’s talked before about how much she admires Novak. Back in October 2025, she told People how honored she felt to take on the role:

'Her story is still very relevant today in that she dealt with Hollywood and scrutiny with her relationships and her own private life and the control of her image. And I think that for me, I relate to it in a lot of different ways.'

So, yeah, Sweeney sees herself in Novak—a nice sentiment, even if Novak herself isn’t convinced.

Who’s Talking to Whom?

• The movie: Scandalous!
• Director: Colman Domingo (directorial debut)
• Kim Novak: Now 93 years old, vocally skeptical about the whole thing
• Sydney Sweeney: Star, executive producer, seemingly has not met Novak in person
• David Jonsson: Set to play Sammy Davis Jr.
• Production status: Raising money, release date still in limbo

If you’re wondering whether Sweeney and Novak have ever met, here’s what Sweeney told The Hollywood Reporter last year: 'Colman and her have a really beautiful relationship. They’ve been talking. We connected them, so it’s been really cool.' Translation: Sweeney herself hasn’t had heart-to-hearts with Novak, and Colman Domingo is apparently the go-between. Judging by Novak’s most recent thoughts, if anyone was hoping the two would eventually bond over the project, that's just not in the cards.

So, to sum up, Scandalous! hasn’t even started filming and it’s already got more real-life drama than half the movies at the multiplex. Whether this winds up being smart meta-commentary on Hollywood’s tendency to rewrite the past, or just another awkward entry in the “unauthorized biopic” canon, we’ll see. But one thing’s for sure: nobody can accuse Kim Novak of keeping quiet.