Hollywood icon Kim Novak blasts Sydney Sweeney's casting in her biopic

A Hollywood icon has slammed a move to cast Sydney Sweeney to play her in an upcoming biopic about her life.

Kim Novak, 93, has hit out at Sweeney's roleSydney Sweeney in the upcoming drama Scandalous, which will document Novak's interracial romance with jazz legend Sammy Davis Jr, which was controversial when it happened from 1957 to 1958.

"I would never have approved," Novak shared in a new interview with The Times of London.

Watch the video above

DEAUVILLE, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 06: Kim Novak poses after receiving an Icon Award for her career during the 51st Deauville American Film Festival on September 06, 2025 in Deauville, France. (Photo by Francois Durand/Getty Images)HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 15: Sydney Sweeney attends the Los Angeles premiere of Lionsgate's "The Housemaid" at TCL Chinese Theatre on December 15, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images)

The Vertigo actress shared that she "had so much in common" with Davis Jr despite their brief relationship, which crumbled due to racial tensions and tabloid scrutiny.

One BBC documentary claims that to end their relationship, Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn hired mobsters to threaten Davis Jr with blinding or having his legs broken if he refused to marry a black woman within 48 hours.

Novak remains concerned that the drama will focus on only the physical relationship between the pair, which she says is inevitable since Sweeney "sticks out so much above the waist".

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Kim Novak receives the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year at the Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, California, 195513th November 1960: American actor, singer and dancer Sammy Davis Jr. (1925 - 1990) stands next to his wife, Swedish actor May Britt, at their wedding reception at Davis's home, Hollywood, California. Britt wears a silk brocade wedding gown with a veil and bouquet. Davis wears a suit and holds a goblet. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

"There's no way it wouldn't be a sexual relationship because Sydney Sweeney looks sexy all the time. She was totally wrong to play me," Novak said of the 28-year-old.

Despite Novak's reservations, the Anyone But You star is excited to take on the new role in the drama, in which she will star opposite actor David Jonsson as Davis Jr and be directed by Colman Domingo in his directorial debut.

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Richard Wilkins chats with Sydney Sweeney about The Housemaid

When the casting was first reported in October 2024, Sweeney told People she felt "incredibly honored" to be able to play Novak.

"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.

"I relate to it in a lot of different ways."

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