Sydney Sweeney Was Blown Away to Discover Ron Howard Film ‘Eden’ Is Based on a True Story | Wrap Studio

At face value, you might think a movie about a group of people who leave Europe in the 1930s to go live on the uninhabited Galápagos island of Floreana, simply figuring out life as they go, is just a new twist on a typical survival story. But, in the case of Ron Howard’s “Eden,” it’s actually a true story — and that definitely surprised Sydney Sweeney and her castmates.

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, the film also stars Ana de Armas, Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Brühl and more. Sitting down at TheWrap’s 2024 TIFF Studio sponsored by Moët & Chandon and Boss Design, Sweeney and de Armas both noted that they were stunned to discover the truth of the events.

“You read all these crazy characters, there’s no way that they all are real, and they all come together and they have all these experiences,” Sweeney recalled of reading the script for the first time. “But then I went and I read Dora [Strauch’s] book, and I read Margret [Wittmer’s] book, and I found all the newspaper clippings of all their stories and it’s the most wild account of people just put together.”

The “Euphoria” actress was even more blown away by the “determination” of the group to forge their own path, traveling a long way and a long time to create a new situation for themselves. In fact, she admitted she thinks about the idea of “being able to escape” to a new land “a lot.”

“It’s the most fascinating look at humans and mankind,” Sweeney added.

Similarly, de Armas was stunned by the truth of it all, especially given the time period.

“I had no idea about it, and I definitely thought it was crazy, and it was very brave and it’s just the unthinkable,” she told TheWrap. “And when it is true, if they don’t tell you it is true and you see testament of it, a documentary or newspapers or whatever you can find, it’s hard to believe that these people, back then in the ’30s, embarked on a trip to an island to start from zero.”

Of course, de Armas resonated with the story — and thinks others will as well — pretty deeply, noting that she already has left home to seek out something better yet unknown.

“I mean, it does feel real. I did it myself. I went from a place where I felt like it didn’t work for me anymore,” she detailed. “And I found my little piece of Eden, my heaven, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”

You can watch TheWrap’s full interview with de Armas, Sweeney and Bruhl in the video above.

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