Sydney Sweeney, Who Just Bought A $4.3 Million House, Says Actors Don’t Get Paid Enough

Euphoria actor Sydney Sweeney has opened up about her finances in a new interview, asserting that she can’t afford to take a break because “they don’t pay actors like they used to.”

The 24-year-old actor, known for her roles in Euphoria and The White Lotus, owns a $4.3 million, five-bedroom, four-bath home in Westwood — so it goes without saying that she certainly lives a much cushier life than most.

But in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sweeney stressed that she does brand deals her job because acting doesn’t pay nearly as much as you’d expect.

“They don’t pay actors like they used to, and with streamers, you no longer get residuals,” Sweeney told THR.

And, as Australian actress Adelaide Kane pointed out last year, lots of the money actors make actually goes to their team. Sweeney broke down her own finances, of which more than 20 percent goes to her lawyers, publicists, managers and agents.

“The established stars still get paid, but I have to give five per cent to my lawyer, 10 per cent to my agents, three per cent or something like that to my business manager,” Sweeney lamented.

“I have to pay my publicist every month, and that’s more than my mortgage.”

“If I just acted, I wouldn’t be able to afford my life in LA. I take deals because I have to.”

While Sweeney didn’t give any insight into exactly how much she’s making, she pointed out that she couldn’t take a six-month break if she wanted to.

“If I wanted to take a six-month break, I don’t have income to cover that,” said Sweeney, as if being able to casually take six months off work is the norm for any of us.

“I don’t have someone supporting me, I don’t have anyone I can turn to, to pay my bills or call for help.”

Sweeney also pointed out that she couldn’t afford to buy a house in a gated community, which poses an obvious privacy risk to her as such a famous celebrity. However, it’s hard to ignore just how out of touch Sweeney’s interview feels when many of us are struggling to heat our homes, fill our cars, or put food on the table.

But the interview is particularly strange given Sweeney spent her first years in LA living in a one-bedroom motel with her whole family while she tried to kickstart her acting career, so you’d assume she understands the privilege she now has.

“We lived in one room. My mom and I shared a bed and my dad and little brother shared a couch,” said Sweeney.

“I thought that if I made enough money, I’d be able to buy my parents’ house back and that I’d be able to put my parents back together.

“But when I turned 18, I only had $800 to my name. My parents weren’t back together and there was nothing I could do to help.”