Glen Powell on ‘Anyone But You’ co-star Sydney Sweeney dating rumours: Worked wonderfully for film

New York, Apr 24 (PTI) “Fun and chemistry” are two elements needed to sell a romantic-comedy film, says actor Glen Powell, who credits his “Anyone But You” co-star Sydney Sweeney for smartly mining their on-screen camaraderie to make the film a hit.

Powell and Sweeney starred in “Anyone But You”, which received mixed reviews from critics but garnered a lot of attention for their pairing. Loosely based on William Shakespeare’s play “Much Ado About Nothing”, the film directed by Will Gluck went on to earn over USD 200 million worldwide.

Rumours of an off-screen affair between the two started to take shape when Powell and his long-term girlfriend broke up, and Sweeney remained engaged to fiance Jonathan Davino, who also served as an executive producer on “Anyone But You” along with her.

“The two things that you have to sell a rom-com are fun and chemistry. Sydney and I have a ton of fun together, and we have a ton of effortless chemistry. That’s people wanting what’s on the screen off the screen, and sometimes you just have to lean into it a bit — and it worked wonderfully. Sydney is very smart,” Powell, 35, told The New York Times newspaper.

Sweeney, also an executive producer through her Fifty-Fifty Films banner on “Anyone But You”, said she was in constant touch with the marketing strategists on the Columbia Pictures film.

“I was on every call. I was in text group chats. I was probably keeping everybody over at Sony marketing and distribution awake at night because I couldn’t stop with ideas. I wanted to make sure that we were actively having a conversation with the audience as we were promoting this film, because at the end of the day, they’re the ones who created the entire narrative,” the 26-year-old added.

“Anyone But You” followed Bea (Sweeney) and Ben (Powell), who after their first date turns disastrous, cross paths years later to attend a destination wedding in Australia where they pretend to be a couple for mutual benefit.

The film was released in theatres in December and is now streaming on Netflix.