Actors spend a lot of time preparing for roles and learning their lines before they take the shot. But we often do not see the effort they put in to breathe life into a character. While actors can add their own flavor to a fictional character, it is no easy feat to play real-life characters. Audiences can tear apart a performance if the actor gets the mannerisms of the character wrong. Only a few are talented enough to take on such challenging roles. Among the younger crop, Julia Garner earned an Emmy for playing Anna Delvey and now it seems Sydney Sweeney is also entering the race. 

After hogging the spotlight last year for her noteworthy performances in Euphoria and White Lotus, the 25-year-old actress is ready to take on real-life whistleblower, Reality Winner in a new feature.

Playing Reality Winner was both emotionally and physically challenging for Sydney Sweeney

The Handmaid’s Tale actress confessed to Hollywood Reporter that the docu-film was quite demanding both physically and emotionally. While reading the transcript, Sydney Sweeney failed to understand why Reality Winner never asked for a lawyer. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IERvOx3C7RY

“I found it so hard going through all of that transcript and being like: “Reality, why don’t you ask for a lawyer?!?”,” she said, baffled. Director Tina Satter had used the transcript from the FBI’s interrogation session with Reality Winner. Following that, she soon found something common between them: the love for animals. 

The whistleblower lifted weights and posted workouts on her social media handles. So, to be convincing, Sweeney had to bulk up. The blonde star also tried her hands at Yoga since Winner was also a yoga instructor. 

However, despite the hurdles, the actress tried to present Reality as a person with a story to help viewers get a sense of her.

More on Sweeney’s docu-film Reality

The 83-minute documentary film will tell the story of Reality Winner, who made headlines in 2017 for blowing the whistle on top government secrets on The Intercept. The former Air Force Linguist had to undergo a grueling FBI interrogation session after leaking confidential information about Russians interfering in Donald Trump’s election. 

The court ruled against her, and she was to serve 5 years and 6 months in jail. The film is set to premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Are you ready to watch Sweeney play Reality? Let us know in the comments.