Sydney Sweeney Endures a Nightmare While Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones

The bomb is really bomb!

I know, it really is.

They're not lying when they have that.

Oh my god.

Hey, what's going on, everybody?

For First We Feast, I'm Sean Evans, and you're watching Hot Ones.

It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings.

And today we're joined by Sydney Sweeney.

She's an Emmy Award-nominated actress you know from breakout hit shows like White Lotus, The Handmaid's Tale, and Euphoria, as well as a year in film that includes Anyone But You, Reality, and more.

Now, though, she's taking on the role of Julia Carpenter in Madame Web, the latest from the Spider-Verse, set to release in theaters on February 14th.

Sydney Sweeney, welcome to the show.

Thank you.

What's going through your head as you prepare to take on the Hot Ones lineup?

Are you at all nervous going into this?

I am so nervous.

I am shaking right now.

This is terrifying for me.

All right.

That was really good.

I think I psyched myself too high and I'm good.

Okay, I got this.

I can see it.

So there's been so much building anticipation for your performance in Madam Web, especially so since the first images of you in the Spider Woman suit leaked to the internet in November.

Do you remember where you were and what was going through your head when you tried on the costume and eye mask for the first time?

Yes, I was in Boston already.

We filmed in Boston.

And we had this really cool scan done of our bodies so they could get a full 3D measurement of us.

And they showed us sketches, and I was like, oh my god, that's so cool, because it had full 3D sketches of our faces.

And when I put it on, I truly felt like a superhero.

It was the coolest thing ever.

Oh, dear.

It doesn't feel as spicy as the other one.

We're like lulling you into a false sense of security over here.

Yeah, it's not as spicy.

Shifting gears on you, Sydney.

Playing all kinds of mind games.

Yeah.

That wasn't spicy at all.

There we go.

Shrugging it off.

Okay.

You got this all along.

Okay, this is not bad.

So I know that you've been an avid bookworm since childhood, which now, as someone who owns a production company, serves this dual purpose as being a powerful pipeline to the big screen.

What are the elements that make a novel a prime candidate for adaptation, and are there any telltale signs that let you know it'll be an uphill climb?

Yeah, you know, there's a lot of different variables that go into if I like a book or not, whether I connect to the character, if it's moving, how it's developed, if there's an amazing arc to that character or the story itself, or if I'm just interested in it.

Sometimes I just find a whole story interesting, and I'm like, there's something there.

I can take a concept of that and twist it into something else, and I'll find it that way.

What's the best book you read this year?

Ooh, the best book I've read?

You know, I read Clara and the Sun.

It was really good.

There we go.

Possible adaptation there.

I think so.

All right, so this one's got a little sweet, a little savory.

Okay.

Not spicy at all.

I thought this was hot ones.

Oh!

I'll remember you said that.

Okay.

Doing research about you, I saw this story over and over again about your prep process and how you'll do these character biographies.

Of the characters you've played, which 100-page journal do you think would be the best seller as a personal memoir?

Ooh.

Probably Cassie.

Cassie's book is really, really cool.

It's the most developed because I've had so much time with her.

Yeah, you had like the whole summer to do it, right?

Well, the whole summer and then also there's been, I have two seasons of her, so she's grown so much and I was able to have season one and then season two and just kind of develop this book

So it's really cool to just see how it changes.

Where do you keep all the character Bibles?

Like, are they in a box somewhere?

Are they on a shelf?

They're on a shelf in a box.

And there's a sign that says, Sydney's do not touch.

It's not spicy.

Do you even have taste buds?

I don't know.

It might all be just scorched earth actually back here.

But I have to say, you must be impressing yourself a little bit at this point.

I'm really impressing myself right now.

I'm very proud.

I am too.

Very impressed from this side of the table.

Thank you.

What are the mechanics of throwing up on camera?

Like that scene in season two of Euphoria in the hot tub, that's one of the most realistic puking scenes I've ever seen on TV.

So there was a lot of work that went behind that.

They had to create, because Sam wanted, of course, it just to be projectile vomit everywhere, where a lot of films, they'll just have a cup of mushed up anything that they have from Kraft

mixed with milk and water and it's the most disgusting thing and you just put it in your mouth and you hold it and then you puke it up.

But Sam, of course, did not want that.

He just wanted...

vomit everywhere, so they had to get a pump.

And they had this pipe that they just taped and hid all my body, and then they CGI'd it out, up my neck, and then there was a horse bit that I had to put in my mouth.

And so during that scene, they're filling my mouth with throw up.

And then I open my mouth and it just starts shooting out of my mouth.

And it was the most disgusting thing I've ever experienced.

This is the movie magic behind the scenes topics.

These are the things that we like to dive in here.

But I think that was important because what you're saying is right.

Everyone has the cup, but then you don't really get the realistic volume.

You need volume.

You need the pump.

It's a very insane pump too.

But the horse bit, it was so, I was like, why do we need the horse bit?

It was huge.

Interesting.

Okay.

We'll see.

Interesting choice.

Who's gonna drink first?

Ooh, it's a standoff.

Well, you know what?

Now that the line in the sand has been drawn, I'm gonna hold my ground.

Oh, really?

We'll see who drinks first, Sydney.

Okay.

So you not only star and executive produced the 2023 rom-com, Anyone But You, but I know also spent a year working on a spec script.

And it's clear that you have an affinity for that early 2000s feel-good love story that Hollywood used to make a lot more often.

What to you are the hallmarks of a good romantic comedy?

Like when they work, what makes them work?

I think when you have two characters who

you fall in love with and you want them to fall in love also.

I love a rom-com that you leave the theater and you have laughed, you've cried, you want to go and fall absolutely head over heels in love.

That's what makes a really good rom-com.

Off the top of your head and without thinking about it too much, what is Sydney Sweeney's GOAT rom-com?

I'm not even lying when I say it's my best friend's wedding, which was so cool because we got to see it with Dermot, and he hadn't seen that movie since the premiere.

And it was the most special, beautiful experience.

All right, we are halfway done, believe it or not.

Wow.

Not a sweat broke.

I know, I can't believe it.

This next one is the Bourbon Maple Reaper.

Reaper.

Reaper, which is important.

Also, this one's way darker than the other ones.

That's when you know it's getting serious over here.

Are you trying to cool it down?

There's nothing you can do.

I reflexively do that, but it doesn't help.

All right.

Yeah, I'm good.

I'm good.

I knew it.

As someone whose hobbies include MMA training, dirt bikes, wakeboarding, and operating on heavy machinery, what's the worst injury you've ever suffered at the hands of your hobbies?

So I, when I was, I think I was 11 or 12.

I look back because my mom's here.

Yeah, yeah.

Fact check.

Yeah, I think I was 11 or 12.

I got in a wakeboarding accident, and the board came up and sliced my face, and I have a scar right here next to my eye, and I had to get a bunch of stitches.

That was the worst accident ever, but when I got my stitches out, my mom took me back out to the lake and put me back in the water, and I'm screaming and crying because I did not want to get back up on the board.

I was terrified, and she would not let me leave until I stood back up.

Well, shout out to mom.

Yeah.

When you fall off that horse.

Get back up.

You got to get back up.

Yeah.

How about this?

Which extracurricular of your youth do you remember more fondly, robotics team or the academic club math is cool?

How do you know this?

Oh, my God.

I don't know which one I would say is my favorite.

I think math is cool.

I fell in love with math.

You know why?

Because it's cool.

Exactly.

Because it's fucking cool.

Because it's fucking cool.

How did you find that out?

You're Sydney Sweeney, we have to know.

Just shout out Nargwar.

Oh my God.

Okay.

Are you ready to move on here to sauce number seven?

Yes.

So here we have a forbidden fruit.

Okay.

I see kind of a contemplative look on your face.

Well, I'm trying to figure out where I'm supposed to taste the spice.

I'm really confused right now.

Well, we'll check on the next one.

The next one will be a good stress test for this whole thing.

But maybe you gotta get into Carolina Reaper eating competitions or something.

If the acting thing doesn't work out, Sydney, yeah.

I'll just travel around different fairs.

This is the talent inside you all along.

I had no idea.

So the fashion of Euphoria is so influential that it spawned its own coffee table book.

What would you say distinguishes the approach of costume designer Heidi Bivens?

Ooh, I think that she has approached each character with such a unique vision that she allows all of us to also bring our own ideas to the table, which is really cool.

Is there a backstory to the jam out with your clam out tee that you wore on White Lotus?

No.

How about this?

What to you is fundamental or key when picking out the perfect bucket hat?

Oh, you know, I actually really like bucket hats, if it fits my head.

Yeah, just shape.

Do you have an all-time favorite stylist pull that you've been able to walk off set with and work into rotation?

Ooh, I always take all of my stylist things, usually jackets versus shoes.

If they're going to take the time to tailor them, you might as well, right?

I don't get it.

I do not understand.

We tailor these outfits.

We do this whole thing.

I don't know how it fits everybody else.

And then I have to give it back.

It makes me sad.

It's not fair.

It's just going to go into storage.

I'll wear it again.

All right, Sydney, you have walked right along this chicken wing line.

Okay.

Unaffected.

Yes.

Unfazed.

Okay.

This next one is Da Bomb Beyond Insanity.

Ooh, okay.

We go out with the old, in with the new every year.

Okay.

Except for this sauce, which has held its ground since basically the beginning.

Why?

You're about to find out.

It's pretty good.

Wow.

I mean, I feel tingly on my lips.

Yeah.

That one might have an after effect.

Yeah.

It builds a little bit, but... That one's building in my mouth.

Yeah, yeah.

It's all right, we got this.

Yeah, that one's building.

Why?

It doesn't stop either.

I think it's just something about it, you know?

Wow.

And there aren't a lot of great redeeming culinary qualities about it either, so it's kind of just like straight taking gasoline or something.

Wow.

Yeah, yeah.

All right, finally, I was worried.

Wow.

I know.

Is your tongue numb?

My throat is, I can't even feel it.

You know what I mean?

That's number what?

Eight.

Which is good.

Why is this happening?

Because it just, it's what happens.

And this is where I'll say be careful on the eyes.

You know, you'll have like a natural kind of urge, a natural impulse to wipe your eyes.

Try not to, okay?

Yeah, I won't wipe my eyes.

All right.

So earlier this year... What is in this?

It's just...

I don't know, maybe trace amounts of poison.

No, I'm standing up.

I'm 10 toes.

I'm on 10 toes right here.

So earlier this year.

How are you talking?

It's just a lot of practice.

I've had a lot of practice.

But you did a GQ 10 Things I Can't Live Without video.

Did I?

And opened it, perhaps joking, perhaps not, about eating Kit Kats for breakfast and then sprinkling Sour Patch Kids in your popcorn so that you have a little surprise when you eat.

We should be doing a show about that instead.

No, I get it.

I get it.

I wish I had an ice cream show.

I really do.

But this is the cross that I bear over here.

Do you have a Mount Rushmore of movie theater candies, a top four sugary snacks to pair with film?

Yes, I do.

I like, um, Airheads.

Um, I like Peanut M&Ms.

I like Sour Patch Kids, and... Wow.

Uh, Kit Kats.

With Madame Web dropping on Valentine's Day, do you have a take or a position on Candy Hearts?

I love them.

the bomb is really bomb i know it really is they're not lying when they have that oh my god but you know what i think this is a healthy reaction you know what you had going on before this was maybe more concerning than this you know i think that they all just waited to kick in all at the same time yeah the cumulative effect unlocked it all and you know what i think they heard you popping about them i think so you know i think that that's really what happened and then all of a sudden you needed this uh revenge arc

God damn, people are gonna just come at me in the comments now.

They're not, they're not.

They're gonna be so inspired by your bravery here.

Yeah.

How do you feel about moving on here?

I feel great, let's do it.

I love that attitude.

You know, I'm catching secondhand enthusiasm over here.

Always.

And I think it's given me the strength that I need.

You can't give up.

Is this another deadly killer?

anything that you eat after Da Bomb is just a little bit easier.

Yeah, exactly.

It kind of clears everybody out the paint and allows for smooth sailing.

Not fun by any stretch of imagination, but you got it.

Oh, that's good.

Is it true that you briefly worked as a tour guide at Universal Studios?

And if so, did you have a favorite tour fun fact or point of interest?

I used to do the architecture tour of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.

No way.

So I share a natural kinship in the profession.

That's so cool.

Yeah.

Yeah, no.

I was a struggling actor in high school and I had to pay all my own bills because my mom, I mean, I love you, mom.

I love you so much.

But yeah, I had to pay my own phone bill, car insurance, everything, gas.

And I'm so glad she did because I've learned how to budget and save my money and know what's important in life.

I always, I love tour guides at Universal.

I memorized the entire thing and so I was there for a little bit and then I actually booked Sharp Objects.

That's a great exit strategy.

I was out there on that river and lake for like six years.

Yeah, no.

Like six summers.

I used to have dreams where I'd do the entire shift that I just did in my dream and then go back to doing tours.

That's the one thing about running that thing back.

I think I might dream about this.

But the good thing is, Sydney Sweeney, the nightmare is almost over.

Well, if you're doing it, I have to do it.

There we go.

Oh, shit.

Careful, steady hands.

I'm already choking.

I poured too much.

Do you want to switch?

Do you want to trade?

Nope.

Respect.

You know what?

Then I'll add a little extra too.

I just, you know, I want the same wavelength over here.

I'm going to even it out.

There you go.

A little spread.

Okay.

Ready?

Yep.

incredible mm-hmm and like I said nothing fun about that nope but we're here at the end and to close things out what I want to do is just a quick rapid-fire travel guide okay for someone who grew up near the border of Washington and Idaho it's the first time we've ever had a guest with that situation first things first summer at the lake do I need to go to Coeur d'Alene or Sand Point ooh summertime Coeur d'Alene

Huckleberry picking, overrated or underrated?

Love it.

There you go, properly rated.

And then finally, a favorite local mountain to ski, is it Schweitzer?

Schweitzer.

But I was actually, I was on the ski team at Mount Spokane.

Well, you know what?

It would be nice to be on the snow-tipped mountain peak right now.

Yes, it would.

But you know what?

It's all over.

The worst is over.

Sydney Sweeney taking on the wings of death, living to tell the tale, and now there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you.

Thank you.

This camera, this camera, this camera.

Let the people know what you have going on in your life.

I'm just hoping I don't die by tomorrow.

I got a movie that's coming out called Madam Web.

It's really cool.

You should go see it.

My lips are going numb.

All right, now?

Yeah.

Cheers.

Cheers.

Let's drink.

It's time.

Cheers.

Oh, why didn't we do that sooner?

We should have done that way earlier.

Wow.

It's good, right?

Thanks for bringing this in.

First time on that.

That works.

Yeah.

Rappuccino.

I'm really fucking proud of myself.

You should be proud of yourself.

I thought I was going to die.

Made it through.

Well, only time will tell, but it's looking good.

Yeah, it's looking good.

Okay.

That was insane.

Hey, what's going on, Hot Ones fans?

This is Sean Evans.

Thank you so much for watching today's episode.

And if you would like to get the taste of Hot Ones delivered right to your door, well, I have good news for you.

The Season 23 Hot Ones 10-pack is available now.

Heatness.com.

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That's Heatness.com to get your hands on the Season 23 Hot Ones lineup.

Milk not included.

Ice cream highly recommended.

And remember, be careful around the eyes.