Kim Novak says Sydney Sweeney is 'totally wrong' to play her in biopic, 'sticks out so much above the waist'
Kim Novak says Sydney Sweeney is 'totally wrong' to play her in biopic, 'sticks out so much above the waist'
Wesley StenzelSat, March 28, 2026 at 9:56 PM UTC
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Kim Novak; Sydney Sweeney in Santa Barbara on Feb. 8, 2026Credit: Donaldson Collection/Getty; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagicKey points -
Kim Novak says Sydney Sweeney is "totally wrong" to play her in the upcoming biopic Scandalous.
The Vertigo actress "would never have approved" of Sweeney's casting in the film, noting that she "sticks out so much above the waist."
Novak also fears that Scandalous will focus too much on the sexual side of her relationship with Sammy Davis Jr. "because Sydney Sweeney looks sexy all the time."
Kim Novak doesn't want Sydney Sweeney to play her in an upcoming biopic.
The Vertigo actress candidly reflected on the Anyone but You star being cast in the film Scandalous, which will chronicle her controversial affair with Sammy Davis Jr. in the 1950s.
"I would never have approved," Novak said of the movie, which cast Industry and Alien: Romulus star David Jonsson as Davis, in a new interview with the U.K.'s The Times.
She added that Sweeney "sticks out so much above the waist."
Kim Novak in Deauville, France, on Sept. 6, 2025; Sydney Sweeney in Los Angeles on Jan. 10, 2026Credit: Foc Kan/WireImage; Jerritt Clark/Getty
Novak is also apprehensive about the movie putting too much emphasis on the sexual attraction between her and Davis, because she remembers their relationship being primarily based on them having "so much in common."
"There's no way it wouldn't be a sexual relationship because Sydney Sweeney looks sexy all the time," Novak said of Scandalous. "She was totally wrong to play me."
Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Sweeney for comment.
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Novak also remembered the racism that Davis endured in midcentury Hollywood. "Because of the color of his skin people did terrible things," she said.
However, Novak rejected the rumor that she applied for a marriage license to wed the legendary singer, actor, and dancer. "No, no," she said. "I mean, he loved me. I cared for him deeply. But at that time I never wanted to marry anybody."
The Man With the Golden Arm actress also said the late studio executive and Columbia Pictures co-founder Harry Cohn was a horrible boss. "Harry kept you on a tight rein," she recalled. "He even had people follow me around to make sure I wasn't wasting my time talking to the person who was selling hot dogs [on set], and he told me, 'Don't eat those hot dogs.' I was always conscious of not putting on weight and how I dressed. They were constantly controlling you. If I put that much control on my horse I wouldn't blame him if he bucked me off."
Kim Novak; Sammy Davis Jr.Credit: Silver Screen Collection/Getty; Gilles Petard/Redferns
When asked if she'd heard the rumors that Cohn threatened Davis with violence if the singer didn't marry a Black woman, Novak replied, "Oh, I know it was true."
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Sweeney's Euphoria costar Colman Domingo is set to direct Scandalous. The film has not yet begun production.
Sweeney previously paid tribute to Novak at the 2025 Met Gala in May, where she wore a black Miu Miu dress similar to one that Novak sported in 1967's The Legend of Lylah Clare. Domingo was one of the co-chairs of the gala.
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