Key Takeaways
- Sydney Sweeney joined sports prediction market Novig as an equity partner and helped shape its playful “Just Sports” campaign while filming Gundam in Australia.
- Sweeney says she thrives while wearing multiple hats, which includes working on the creative of this “Just Sports” campaign as well as prodcuing her acting projects, including Anyone But You, Christy, The Housemaid, and Gundam.
Sydney Sweeney has been busy. A lot of it you get to see; HBO ended Euphoria with a third and final stranglehold on the timeline, and word recently hit that Netflix’s live-action Gundam, which Sweeney stars in alongside Noah Centineo and an ensemble cast, wrapped filming in Australia. And while we have no doubt that you’ve seen her in the new “Just Sports” campaign she has launched with Novig—the first campaign from the 21+ sports prediction market—what you don’t see is the work that Sweeney puts into projects like this, where she isn’t just the face on the brand; she’s an equity partner, putting together pieces of this campaign while away in Australia filming Gundam.
“Because I've been a part of the creative conversations from the very beginning,” Sweeney shared with Complex via phone, “I had built an amazing relationship with everyone involved, and I was really excited to get to set.”
“It can be kind of isolating when you're away for that long,” Sweeney continued, “so being able to have my entire glam team come down, and my team who I've been with for almost a decade—they're like my family—it was really exciting to be able to see them again.”
Sweeney calls the “Just Sports” campaign “a very simple and playful idea,” aimed to “really bring the concept of ‘just sports’ to life,” and the spot really does get to the heart of what Novig is all about. Novig’s vision is truly just sports, with “a marketplace designed around transparency and efficiency” that is built by sports traders, for sports traders. Sweeney says that this was a true collaboration.
“I've always believed that the best partnerships are the ones where everyone's getting to collaborate,” Sweeney explains. “I don’t like to just put my face on something. I really want to be able to get into the weeds of it with an amazing team. And I got to meet the Novig team. Jacob's incredible, and I believed in him as a founder.
“Being able to be a part of watching this company grow and not just be the face of it is really important to me,” she says.
Now, for anyone doubting what Sydney knows about sports, she confirms that she has a deep background. “I grew up loving sports,” she says. “I played sports growing up. I was on a soccer team, I was on a softball team, I was on a snow ski team. I learned how to slalom ski when I was little, and I did MMA. So sports have been a really big part of my life, and I love watching hockey and boxing, especially after playing Christie Martin. I have a really huge appreciation for every single fighter.” It makes you wonder: with all of those loves, how does one then choose to pursue acting?
“Well, first, my parents always told me to fall in love with as many things as possible,” Sweeney shares, “so they really wanted me to try absolutely everything. I think that the idea and concept of acting was my ability and my choice to be able to not have to pick being one thing for the rest of my life. I get to play all these different characters. I get to learn so much about other people and the world. I get to travel. I get to meet interesting and smart, intelligent, creative people, and it's broadened my world so much more than if I would've just chosen one thing.
“There was a moment, though, when I was 12,” Sweeney continues, “I really wanted to go to the X Games for wakeboarding, but that didn’t happen.”
Sweeney’s desire to pursue acting as a way not to have to choose one particular profession is interesting, since she has been wearing a number of hats lately. She has produced, or executive produced, four films since 2023 (including 2023’s Anyone But You and two of her 2025 films, Christy and The Housemaid. She’s attached as producer on two future projects, including the upcoming Gundam.) It looks as though she thrives when she has more than one job to do.
“I actually find myself being able to work better when I have more hats to wear,” Sweeney says. “I love being able to be involved in the entire process with every single person from the ground up. It is such a great ownership. I'm challenging myself, I'm learning so much more, but then I also have such a creative authority that is really amazing to be able to sit at a table and be a part of every discussion, whether it's from casting, marketing, budgeting, who we're going to sell this to, what market; being involved in all of that has honestly been able to help me appreciate every single person on set.”
Outside of all of this? Sweeney’s birthday is coming up, and maybe because of how busy she’s been, she plans on keeping her upcoming birthday lowkey, saying that she’ll just “spend it with my close friends and my loved ones, and usually also a Pizookie.”
For more on Sydney Sweeney and Novig’s “Just Sports” campaign, heard over to novig.com.
