Sydney Sweeney does not have Kim Novak's stamp of approval. In a recent interview with The Times published on March 27, the 93-year-old Vertigo actress revealed her thoughts on Sweeney, 28, taking on her role for the upcoming biopic Scandalous!. She described the casting decision as "totally wrong."
"I would never have approved," Novak said of Sweeney's lead role in the film, which will follow the real-life story of the 1950s romance between Novak and Sammy Davis Jr., who will be played by David Jonsson, according to The Times.
Novak added that she thinks the Euphoria star "sticks out so much above the waist." The Picnic actress also echoed a previously expressed concern that the film would focus too heavily on the "sexual" component of her relationship with the late musician. In reality, she told The Times, their relationship was based far more on the fact that she and Davis had "so much in common."
"There's no way it wouldn't be a sexual relationship because Sydney Sweeney looks sexy all the time," Novak told the outlet. "She was totally wrong to play me."
Representatives for Sweeney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. However, Sweeney has previously expressed excitement about starring as Novak in Scandalous!, which is set to be her Euphoria costar Coleman Domingo's directorial debut.
"I'm incredibly honored to bring Kim to life," Sweeney told PEOPLE at the premiere of her film Christy in October 2025, months after she nodded to Novak with her Met Gala look. "I think 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."
At the time, the actress also told PEOPLE that after wrapping season 3 of her hit HBO show, she would step into Novak's famous shoes and shared excitement at the prospect of meeting the 93-year-old actress.
"Once I finish Euphoria, I switch into Scandalous! gear and I'm going to turn my brain into Kim," said Sweeney. "I'm so excited. I'm like, 'Oh my God. I'm going to meet Kim Novak.'"
Novak, who is currently promoting her revealing new documentary Kim Novak's Vertigo, previously shared her apprehension about Sweeney's casting, plus some other concerns about Scandalous!, last year. In an August 2025 interview with The Guardian, Novak said, "I don't think the relationship was scandalous."
"He's somebody I really cared about," she continued of Davis. "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."
Novak and Davis' relationship ended due to external pressure - including from the head of Columbia Pictures, Harry Cohn, who is rumored to have threatened Davis with a mob hit when news of the romance broke in 1957. Asked about the rumor in her recent chat with The Times, Novak said, "Oh, I know it was true." She also denied that she and Davis ever sought a marriage license, telling the outlet, "No, no. I mean, he loved me. I cared for him deeply. But at that time I never wanted to marry anybody."
