Sydney Sweeney’s got a full plate with both her TV schedule and 2025 movie slate. Along with filming the upcoming Euphoria Season 3, she’s also teaming up with Colman Domingo in his directorial debut to star in Scandalous. The project, which dramatizes the romance between Sammy Davis Jr. and Kim Novak, has generated buzz thanks to Sweeney’s rising star power and the enduring legacy of the Chicago-born actress’s place in Hollywood history. But, as the film moves closer to reality, the now-92-year-old Vertigo star is voicing concerns.
Kim Novak's work has been celebrated, but aspects of her personal have been much-discussed as well. In a candid new interview with The Guardian, the screen legend made it clear she has reservations about how her relationship the late Davis will be framed. As she explained:
I don’t think the relationship was scandalous. 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.
The Pal Joey alum’s worries admittedly check out. We’re talking about a really personal chapter of her life here, and Hollywood doesn’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to handling true stories with care. If anything, the industry is known for leaning hard into the most sensational bits. So you can’t fault the Vertigo legend for being a little wary.
And, honestly, her comments fit right in with the way she’s handled her entire career, constantly pushing back against the system trying to reshape her. Born Marilyn Novak in Chicago, she was picked up by Columbia Pictures in 1954 and immediately pressured to change everything about herself.
Studio head Harry Cohn reportedly wanted Novak to be thinner, with capped teeth, bleached hair, and essentially a face that matched the other stars of the time. The Bell Book and Candle star refused to play along completely and fought to keep her last name and hang onto a sense of who she really was.
Back in the late ’50s, Novak’s romance with Sammy Davis Jr. was both trailblazing and risky. Harry Cohn allegedly even threatened Davis with mob violence if the relationship went on. For the Pepe performer, though, it was never some “forbidden scandal.” It was just two people who really connected. That’s the side of the story she hopes the new biopic captures.
Kim Novak stepped away from Hollywood in the 1960s after years of pressure, later settling in Oregon with her husband, Robert Malloy, where she turned to painting as both a passion and a form of therapy. The actress was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in the 2000s and has been an outspoken proponent of her mental health and resilience. Now, receiving a lifetime achievement award at the Venice Film Festival alongside a new documentary (Kim Novak’s Vertigo), she says she feels recognized not just for her performances but for staying true to herself.
Sydney Sweeney also isn’t afraid to stretch her skills by doing something different, which is a good thing because playing a real-life and still living actress isn’t just about channeling old Hollywood glamour. It’s also about digging into the vulnerability behind the star. Sweeney's already proven her range in Euphoria and even in Americana (which, yeah, “seemingly bombed”) and, now, she’s not only taking the lead but producing.
That means she’s helping decide how the Kiss Me, Stupid actress’ story actually gets told. Rising actor David Jonsson is also in the mix, as he's portraying Sammy Davis Jr. Add in Colman Domingo—who’s described the project as a “fractured love story”—and you’ve got a film that could give Kim Novak’s legacy the kind of depth and compassion it deserves.
Whether Scandalous lands in time for the 2026 release slate or not, I’m already ready to grab a seat when it finally does.
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