'WE HAD CHEMISTRY RIGHT OFF THE BAT'

THE ANYONE BUT YOU STARS BRING THE HEAT IN THEIR NEW ROM-COM AND TALK ABOUT BARING ALL ONSCREEN AND THEIR FLIRTY BOND

- ERIC ANDERSSON 

If romantic comedies live or die by the chemistry between their stars, Anyone But You may prove to be immortal. The connection between Sydney Sweeney, 26, and Glen Powell, 35, was immediately apparent to anyone with a pulse after steamy photos of the pair filming scenes in Australia went viral earlier this year, sparking rumors that they were an item. Spoiler alert: They’re just friends. But all the attention helped drive focus to the movie. “I mean, we sold a rom-com,” says Sweeney with a sly smile. “We were just filming a fun, amazing movie.”

The Euphoria and The White Lotus Emmy nominee, who’s also an executive producer on the film, plays Bea, a Boston University law school student who has a meet-cute at a coffee shop with charming but cocky finance bro Ben (Powell). After their first (and only) date goes south, they later find themselves headed to the same destination wedding Down Under. To prevent their well-intentioned loved ones (including Bea’s parents, played by Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths) from meddling in their personal lives, Ben and Bea decide to put on a show-mance and pretend to be a couple for the getaway.

Sweeney, who is engaged to producer and restaurateur Jonathan Davino, and Powell, who is single, talk to People about their spark— while finishing each other’s sentences.

When did you meet, and what were your first impressions of each other?

SYDNEY SWEENEY So I was sitting in the stands at the MTV Awards [in 2022]...

GLEN POWELL The MTV Movie [& TV] Awards. SWEENEY Then all of a sudden this guy walks onstage, and then I hear my name, and I’m like, “Oh my God.”