Euphoria creator reveals Sydney Sweeney's demand over nude scenes in latest season

Sydney Sweeney asked Sam Levinson if he was 'kidding' when he suggested avoiding nude scenes in the final season of Euphoria, the show's creator has said.

The actress, 28, has spent most of series three being scantily-clad and creating controversial adult content as Cassie Howard.

According to Levinson, he suggested dialling it back a bit before filming for the third season began - but he says Sweeney insisted that her storyline wouldn't make sense without it.

The third season of the hit HBO show, which is expected to be the last, has been met by quite a lot of backlash after episodes started dropping back in April.

A stomach-churning scene featuring Zendaya and Chloe Cherry sparked uproar, as did the 'unnecessary' inclusion of a racial slur, while there's also been a running commentary about Sweeney's antics this season.

The Christy star has come under fire after dressing up to resemble a baby and a dog, using an ableist slur and signing off the final season of Euphoria with one last controversial scene involving a dildo.

Needless to say, the show has really gone out with quite the bang.

All of these controversial scenes featuring Sweeney have sparked conversations about the Euphoria cast supposedly being over-sexualised.

Her character goes to extreme lengths to kickstart her OnlyFans career, while Hunter Schafer’s Jules took on a similar step up in explicit scenes, as she became a sugar baby being ‘mummified’.

Then there was Zendaya’s character, Rue, working in a strip club and being witness to a disturbing intimate scene involving one of the women at the club - and a lot of people weren't a fan of these aspects being included.

Euphoria's intimacy co-ordinator, Mam Smith, previously spoke out about what filming this season was like, admitting that it was ‘constantly challenging, all day, every day’ to craft all of these explicit scenes.

But according to the show's creator Levinson, stars such as Sweeney were keen to live up to every element required to sell their characters storylines.

Sweeney didn't want her character Cassie Howard to shy away from nude scenes, Levinson said (HBO)

Speaking to the New York Times, the 41-year-old producer opened up about the relationship he shares with the actress and explained how he tried to ensure she was comfortable with pushing the boundaries.

"Well, it’s funny," he said. "When I first wrote it, I was like, ‘Maybe we shoot all of this and we don’t have any nudity. Maybe there’s ways to shoot around certain things?'

"And she looked at me and she was like, ‘Are you kidding? I’m playing an OnlyFans model. You’re telling me you’re going to, like, skirt around it?'

"And I was like, ‘Yeah, OK, that’s a fair point'."

Levinson went on to praise Sweeney for being a 'totally fearless' and a 'wonderfully professional' screen star, adding: "There’s a lot of trust that we have."

The Euphoria creator praised the actress for being 'totally fearless' (Presley Ann/Getty Images for HBO)

He went on: "And look, we’re tackling this world of OnlyFans where women are being paid to, like, whisper into an ear-shaped microphone.

"There is a level of absurdity to it that is just fun and we’re always trying to come up with ways to make it feel authentic and humorous and dramatic and also speak to the larger wants and wishes of the character."

Levinson also shared a response to complaints from viewers that he included 'nudity when there doesn’t need to be' in Euphoria's first two seasons.

He told the publication: "From the script, you get a sense of what the role requires.

"Even when you go up to audition, let’s use the role of Cassie, you know the role requires a certain amount of nudity. Are you comfortable?

She has been receiving a lot of flack for some controversial scenes (HBO)

Levinson continued: "If they’re comfortable, they get the role, then the next layer is the intimacy coordinator.

"I think it’s a SAG rule that if an actor then says, after getting cast, ‘Actually, I don’t want to do that,’ we can’t force them to do a scene."

Levinson said he firmly believes that actors deliver the 'best, most honest performances' when they feel 'free and safe' on set - which is the environment he tried to create while shooting Euphoria.

"That’s how you get a great performance," he added. "You can’t if there is any tension. The emotion is going to be blocked. And that’s something I’ve known from my days of studying acting.

"So my job is to create the kind of best, most conducive environment for the actor to play this character."