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Kim Novak is not a fan of the idea of Sydney Sweeney playing her in a movie.
In an interview with The Times published March 27, the “Vertigo” star, 93, argued Sweeney is the wrong choice to portray her in “Scandalous,” an upcoming film set to depict Novak’s 1957 romance with Sammy Davis Jr.
“I would never have approved,” Novak said, adding that Sweeney “sticks out so much above the waist.”
Novak said she was particularly concerned that the movie would emphasize the sexual side of her romance with Davis, which stirred controversy at the time due to prejudices surrounding interracial relationships. Novak said she and Davis were drawn to each other because they had “so much in common,” but for the film version, “there’s no way it wouldn’t be a sexual relationship because Sydney Sweeney looks sexy all the time.” She concluded that the “Euphoria” star is “totally wrong to play me.”
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Sweeney.
“Scandalous” was reported to be in development in October 2024, with Colman Domingo directing, Sweeney playing Novak and David Jonsson playing Davis, Variety reported. The movie appeared to still be moving forward as of October 2025, when Sweeney told People that she would begin work on it after finishing the upcoming third season of “Euphoria.”
“I’m incredibly honored to be bringing Kim to life,” she said at the time. “I mean, she is such an amazing actress. 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. And I think that for me, I relate to it in a lot of different ways.”
Sweeney also told People, “I’m so excited. I’m like, ‘Oh my God. I’m going to meet Kim Novak.'”
In May 2025, Sweeney honored Novak by channeling her at the Met Gala. She told Vogue that the look she was wearing, a black beaded gown with short sleeves and a keyhole cutout, was a tribute to a dress Novak wore in 1967’s “The Legend of Lylah Clare.” “This is actually paying homage to Kim Novak,” Sweeney said. “We wanted to really just bring that to life and I think it’s just such a beautiful story.”
Novak, though, had previously shared reservations about “Scandalous,” starting with the title itself.
“I don’t think the relationship was scandalous,” she told The Guardian in August 2025. “He’s somebody I really cared about. 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.”
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY