As Colman Domingo preps his directorial debut with Scandalous!, Kim Novak has some more concerns about the film that charts her relationship with Sammy Davis Jr. in 1957.
The 2x Golden Globe-winning actress of Hollywood’s Golden Age declared she “would never have approved” the film with Sydney Sweeney playing her, noting that the Euphoria actress “sticks out so much above the waist.”
Novak fears the movie will focus too much on sex, despite her and Davis (portrayed by David Jonsson) having “so much in common,” telling The Times, “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.”
Some advice for Sweeney from one actress to another? “You can’t learn to be vulnerable. It’s a big asset to be a bipolar actor. No one feels joy or pain as much as someone who’s bipolar. The feelings are unstoppable,” explained Novak, who revealed her bipolar diagnosis in 2013.
Describing the film as a “fractured love story,” Domingo previously told Deadline they planned to film Scandalous! in summer 2025 after he and Sweeney completed production on Season 3 of Euphoria, which premieres April 12 on HBO.
“And then hopefully we’ll make a beautiful, sweet film that’s really about the possibility of love, but under many eyes, trying to have privacy, trying to have love, trying to have a life,” added Domingo. “And I think it’s something that Sydney and I both know very well. We’re trying to advocate for your humanity again in your life.”
Novak, star of Vertigo, and Rat Pack member Davis were at the peak of star power when they met while guests on The Steve Allen Show in 1956. They fell hard for each other, but as rumors spread, the rampant racism in America threatened to derail their careers. Novak experience the ire of Harry Cohn, the Columbia Pictures chief who had the actress under contract. Her covert affair with Davis became big news when a Chicago gossip columnist wrote a detailed account of their relationship in early 1958, including their plans to wed, despite their denials. Nine days later, Davis married a Black chorus girl named Loray White.