Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya, who have been close friends for a long time, have strengthened their bond while working together as co-stars on Euphoria. Although Sweeney was initially hesitant about the nudity required for her character, Cassie Howard, she eventually took the chance and was highly praised by both critics and audiences for her performance. Despite the show’s immense success and acclaim for her portrayal, there is a significant pay gap between Sweeney and Zendaya, with the latter earning almost twice as much. This could be reasonable since Zendaya not only plays the main character but is also the executive producer, and therefore deserves recognition for her hard work.
Sydney Sweeney was initially hesitant about the nudity demanded for her role in Euphoria, but overcame her reservations by adopting the mindset of a 17-year-old girl placed in such circumstances. She felt that the show depicts a certain reality, and to accurately portray it, she had to empathize with those who experience such situations. Meanwhile, Zendaya, who portrays the lead character Rue Bennett and serves as an executive producer on the show, credits the writer Sam Levinson for articulating emotions that are difficult to express, including mental health problems such as depression.
A report from February 2023 revealed a substantial wage difference between Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya, with Zendaya set to earn approximately $1 million per episode as the lead and executive producer, while Sweeney’s earnings amount to just over one-third of that amount. Sweeney earned about $325,000 for her work on all 13 episodes across two seasons of Euphoria. With the significant gap in pay for the upcoming season and Zendaya’s status as an executive producer, she is expected to earn at least twice as much as Sweeney. It remains to be seen if this wage gap will persist in future seasons, particularly as filming for the third season, rumored to be set five years in the future, is set to begin soon.