A starring part in an Emmy-nominated television show no longer pays as well as it once did. Sydney Sweeney, the breakout star of the HBO hits Euphoria and White Lotus, isn’t bashful about her financial struggles.

From the outside, Hollywood actresses look to be rather carefree. It’s difficult to envision the actors or pop stars featured in those soporific Vogue beauty-tip films worrying about budgets. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sweeney, 24, believes that stardom is not always as carefree as it appears. Who knew stars were so similar to humans?

Hollywood doesn’t pay what it used to.

Sweeney stated in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter that actors are no longer paid as much as they used to be, and there are no residuals with streaming services.

Sweeney was paid $25,000 per episode for season one of Euphoria, according to World Celebs. Jennifer Aniston was paid approximately $22,500 each episode during the first season of Friends, which equates to almost $39,000 today after accounting for inflation. Friends’ principal cast members continue to earn $20 million annually on rerun residuals.

Friends was a network blockbuster, while Euphoria is prestige TV with a smaller viewership. However, it is HBO’s most-watched series behind Game of Thrones. However, with the rise of streaming services, Sweeney is unlikely to achieve that level of financial success again.

While actors with shows on streamers receive a residual payment, it is a fixed fee that is not proportionate to the number of viewers. “There is no’residual’ in the traditional sense because the program does not ‘air.’ In a tweet, TV writer Brenden Gallagher expressed their desire for a bigger compensation depending on views for streaming series.

Sweeney, on the other hand, must maintain his celebrity status. Despite purchasing a $3 million Hollywood Hills property, she admitted to the Hollywood Reporter that the cost of her team, including a lawyer, manager, agency, and publicist, exceeds her mortgage payment.

To make ends meet, she has turned to commercial engagements, serving as a brand ambassador for MiuMiu and the face of an Armani beauty campaign.”If I only acted, I wouldn’t be able to afford to live in Los Angeles. “I take deals because I have to,” she explained.

Still, she is concerned about her future and how she would support a possible family one day. Sweeney expressed her desire to become a young mother in an interview with the Reporter, but acknowledged that this is not a common career path in the entertainment industry.

“I was worried that, if I don’t work, there is no money and no support for kids I would have,” she stated.

Sweeney also doesn’t want to lose the momentum she’s gained over the last five years, and she isn’t financially secure enough to take a long hiatus. “If I wanted to take a six-month break, I don’t have the income to do so,” she stated in the interview. “I don’t have someone supporting me, I don’t have anyone I can turn to, to pay my bills or call for help.”

As a starlet from a lower-middle-class background, she has made a career in Hollywood without the benefit of connections, which is becoming increasingly rare these days. In recent years, social media users have expressed amazement at the prevalence of nepotism among Hollywood stars.

Everyone enjoys hearing about an artist that achieved success on their own. However, the reality is that the effort to become famous includes the challenge of paying rent or a mortgage in a major city such as Los Angeles.