Kim Novak Says Sydney Sweeney Is Wrong to Play Her in Biopic

Hollywood icon Kim Novak did not mince words when asked about Sydney Sweeney playing her in the forthcoming biopic Scandalous. In an interview with the Times of London published in late March 2026, Novak, now 93, said Sweeney was "totally wrong to play me" and would "never have been my choice" for the role. The film, directed by Colman Domingo and produced by Miramax, centers on Novak's controversial 1957 romance with Sammy Davis Jr., a relationship that drew threats, industry pressure, and tabloid fury during an era when an interracial romance between two major Hollywood stars carried serious professional and personal consequences for both of them.

The casting of Sweeney, currently one of Hollywood's most visible actresses through Euphoria and the surprise 2025 box-office hit The Housemaid, was announced earlier this year alongside confirmation that David Jonsson would play Davis Jr. Sweeney told People magazine she was "incredibly honored" to take on the role and described it as "one of the most meaningful projects I've ever been attached to." Novak's response arrived at the other end of the enthusiasm spectrum, and the contrast between the two women's public positions on the same project has kept Scandalous in entertainment headlines long before production begins in earnest.

What Novak Said, and Why It Landed Hard

The Times of London interview captured Novak in the direct register she has maintained throughout her public life. Asked about the Sweeney casting, her objection took a specific and immediately controversial form: she focused on physical appearance. "She sticks out so much above the waist," Novak told the Times, arguing that Sweeney's figure was wrong for the role. "I was not built that way. She is totally wrong to play me."

The comment generated competing reactions almost immediately. Critics noted that framing a casting dispute around a woman's body size reduced both Sweeney and Novak to physical attributes, flattening the question of who should tell this story into the narrowest possible terms. Others argued that Novak, as the living subject of the film, holds a legitimate stake in how she is represented and that her objection deserved to be taken seriously rather than dismissed as an older actress's vanity. Both readings contain something true, which is part of what makes the comment difficult to simply move past.

Novak also said she had not been contacted by the production and would "never have approved" the film if asked. That last detail matters beyond the casting question. The implication is not just that she dislikes Sweeney as a choice, but that she objects to the project's existence in its current form. The romance with Davis Jr. was one of the most painful chapters of her life, partly because of how rapidly and brutally it ended under pressure from Columbia Pictures head Harry Cohn, who reportedly threatened Davis Jr. with professional destruction unless the relationship stopped. Making that private wound into a major studio production is a different category of intrusion than casting a particular actress.

The Story Scandalous Is Telling

The film draws from the documented, frequently discussed romance between Novak and Davis Jr. that began during production of Pal Joey in 1957. At the time, Davis Jr. was one of the most recognizable performers in America, a member of the Rat Pack whose crossover appeal had built an audience across racial lines in a still-segregated entertainment industry. Novak, signed to Columbia, was the studio's response to Marilyn Monroe: a blonde star marketed on glamour and availability, managed tightly by Cohn, who held enormous leverage over her career decisions.

The relationship was documented partly by tabloid press and partly by the participants in later interviews and memoirs. Davis Jr. discussed it at length in his autobiography. What is generally agreed upon: the romance was real, the external pressure to end it was intense and came from multiple directions, and it left lasting marks on both of them. Davis Jr. subsequently married Swedish actress May Britt in 1960, a marriage that itself drew civil rights controversy and reportedly cost him an invitation to John F. Kennedy's inauguration. The patterns of professional and personal pressure applied to two high-profile entertainers because of their relationship is the film's stated subject.

Colman Domingo, whose recent directing work includes Rustin (2023), which starred him as civil rights organizer Bayard Rustin, has positioned himself as a filmmaker interested in recovering overlooked or misrepresented chapters of Black American history. Scandalous fits that pattern. Domingo had not publicly responded to Novak's comments as of this writing.

Sweeney's Response and What It Means for the Film

Sweeney's public handling of the situation has been measured and consistent with her broader approach to controversy: engage briefly, in positive terms, and decline to escalate. Her People magazine quote that she found the role "an incredible honor" and that she would "give everything to do justice to who she was" frames Novak as a historical figure to be honored rather than a living critic to be engaged. The framing threads a narrow needle.

Whether the production modifies its approach in response to Novak's objections is the practical question. Miramax has not issued any public statement addressing Novak's comments. No production timeline changes have been announced. The working assumption across the industry is that the film moves forward with its confirmed cast, and that the controversy will either fade as a news story or become part of the film's promotional backdrop once it nears release.

That irony has not been missed by film critics and cultural writers who covered the story. A film about a woman whose romantic choices were controlled and publicly undermined by powerful industry men is itself being made over the objections of the woman in question. Whether Domingo will address that tension directly in the film depends on creative decisions that have not been made public.

David Jonsson and the Full Production Picture

David Jonsson, cast as Sammy Davis Jr., is a British actor whose profile rose sharply after his work in Alien: Romulus (2024), where he played Andy, the film's synthetic character. The casting follows a pattern that prestige biopics have developed over the past decade: choosing emerging actors over established stars for iconic musical and cultural figures, giving the director more room to define the performance without competing against the audience's preloaded associations.

Davis Jr.'s life outside the 1957-58 Novak period presents its own complexity. His conversion to Judaism following a 1954 car accident was widely covered. His relationships with the Kennedy administration and, later, Richard Nixon generated lasting controversy. His career spanned vaudeville, Broadway, film, and television across five decades. Whether Scandalous stays tightly focused on the romance or attempts to give Davis Jr.'s broader life its due has not been confirmed in any released production details.

The Larger Question About Living Subjects

Novak's objection arrives at a moment when the entertainment industry is having an inconsistent but visible conversation about the rights of living subjects of biographical films. The legal standard is settled: biographical films about public figures do not require the subject's consent. The ethical question is less settled, and it has become more publicly contested as the volume of biographical productions has increased and as more living subjects have spoken out about portrayals they did not sanction.

What distinguishes Novak's situation is that her objection is preemptive. She is not reacting to a finished film but to the announcement that a film is being made. Her practical ability to alter the production is effectively zero. Her ability to shape the public conversation around it, however, is significant. The Times of London interview was widely picked up by global entertainment media, and it has made her objection part of the film's story before a single scene has been shot. The narrative around Scandalous, at least for now, is partially defined by the resistance of its central subject.

Studios and filmmakers have historically dealt with this kind of pre-release criticism by waiting it out. The controversy dissipates, the film gets made, and audiences evaluate the result on its own terms. Whether Scandalous follows that pattern depends on how much the production chooses to engage publicly with Novak's concerns and whether Novak continues to speak about it as production progresses.

For full context on Sydney Sweeney's current position in Hollywood, including her Euphoria Season 3 storyline and the Christy boxing biopic in pre-production, our career profile covers the complete picture. For the Euphoria Season 3 premiere and full cast breakdown, our premiere guide has the details.