Glen Powell & Sydney Sweeney’s Best Anyone But You Trick Wasn’t Even In The Movie

Summary

• Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney used romance rumors to boost marketing for “Anyone But You,” similar to how their characters pretended to date in the movie.
• Despite rumors, Powell and Sweeney did not have an affair during filming in Australia.
• The scandalous rumors promoted interest in the rom-com, contributing to its box-office success, as Powell and Sweeney did a much better job of fake dating than Ben and Bea did in “Anyone But You.”

Anyone But You was an unexpected overwhelming success, leading many to believe that rom-coms are making a comeback, and many have Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney to thank for that because of their impressive work promoting the movie behind the scenes. The 2023 romantic comedy, directed by Will Gluck, tells a classic story (inspired by William Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing) of two people pretending to date who end up falling for one another. Despite its clichés, Anyone But You was received well by audiences as it was fun and the chemistry between Powell and Sweeney was obvious.

Powell starred as Ben and Sweeney as Bea in the cast of Anyone But You, the aforementioned two characters who scheme a fake dating plot for two reasons — to make Margaret jealous (Ben’s motive) and to stop Bea’s parents from trying to get Bea and her ex-fiancé Jonathan back together (Bea’s motive). However, as these things always go, Ben and Bea develop real feelings for one another while pretending to be in a relationship. As it turns out, life (sort of) imitated art regarding Powell and Sweeney’s marketing ploy.

​​​​​​

Glen Powell & Sydney Sweeney’s Romance Rumors Were Better Than Tricks Used In Anyone But You

Rumors Claimed Glen Powell & Sydney Sweeney Were Having An Affair

While filming Anyone But You in Australia, rumors about a possible romance between Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney spread across the internet. Powell was thought to still be dating model Gigi Paris at the time (the couple split while Powell was filming the 2023 rom-com), and Sweeney has been engaged to businessman Jonathan Davino since 2022. So, the gossip was scandalous, to say the least, and ultimately, unfounded and false. However, that didn’t stop Powell and Sweeney from capitalizing on and leaning into the romance rumors. During an interview with the New York Times, Powell explained:

“Sydney and I have a ton of fun together, and we have a ton of effortless chemistry. Sometimes you just have to lean into it a bit — and it worked wonderfully. Sydney is very smart.”

Powell and Sweeney took advantage of the gossip and wisely used it to fuel Anyone But You‘s marketing plan. While many were speculating if the two were having an affair after meeting on the set of the 2023 rom-com, the stars were scheming behind the scenes (sort of like their characters in the movie). Consequently, Powell and Sweeney’s tricks had a much bigger impact than their characters’ fake dating plan in the film.

How Anyone But You’s Rumor Trick Paid Off

Anyone But You Was A Box Office Success

The possibility of a scandalous affair between the two leads of an upcoming rom-com undoubtedly drew many more eyes to Anyone But You, likely leading to more ticket sales and a higher box office gross. Of course, many factors contributed to Will Gluck’s 2023 rom-com’s $219 million box office earnings and 87 percent Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. But the rumors regarding a romance between Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney (and the actors’ successful ploy to lean into the bit to market the movie) had a significant role in Anyone But You‘s success.

Anyone But You
is available to stream on Netflix.

Sources: New York Times, Rotten Tomatoes