Sydney Sweeney Transforms Into Boxing Legend Christy Martin in First “Christy” Trailer
Sydney Sweeney steps into the ring in the first trailer for Christy, where she stars as the International Boxing Hall of Fame legend Christy Martin. Sweeney and Christy earned rave reviews after the world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Sweeney revealed she’d packed on 30 pounds in order to play Martin, as well as weight training and, of course, boxing lessons.
Speaking to Variety at TIFF, Sweeney revealed the extent of her preparation: “I had a nutritionist work with me as well as a weight trainer and a boxing trainer,” Sweeney explained, “We upped my calorie intake and I started taking a lot of protein shakes and supplements and eating everything. I ate a lot of Smuckers, a lot of PB and J sandwiches, milkshakes, kind of just constantly always eating because we were so active. I was constantly burning it all off at the same time. So keeping it all up was quite a challenge.”
Christy was co-written and directed by David Michôd—he worked with screenwriter Mirrah Foulkes—and in Sweeney, cast a rising star more than ready to take a big swing at a meatier role. The reviews coming out of TIFF have been very strong, IndieWire’s Kate Erbland writes, “Sweeney disappears into the role, not just changing her hair color, eye color, accent, and way of moving, but her general air, her overall mien, the space she takes up in a room.” Variety’s Owen Gleiberman says, “Boxing movies have a way of feeling mythological, but what’s so effective about Christy is that it simply tells her story, allowing the heroism to rise up out of it.”
Sweeney didn’t just put on weight and muscle for the role, she also took on some serious shots during filming.
“I was getting pummeled,” Sweeney told Variety. “They were holding ice packs to my face in between takes. I was getting knocked around. I had some gnarly bruises after that.” The film depicts a famous battle between Martin and Laila Ali that Sweeney says left her with a “crazy black eye.”
All her hard work seems to have paid off. Check out the trailer below. Christy hits theaters on November 7.
Featured image: Sydney Sweeney is Christy Martin in “Christy.” Courtesy Black Bear Pictures.
