Sydney Sweeney: ‘I learned so much about myself playing lesbian boxer Christy’

As Sydney Sweeney steps up to the ring with her new movie, Christy, she reflects on how much the story of adversity has impacted her.

The 28-year-old Hollywood star grew to prominence in HBO’s Euphoria and has since jumped from rom-com to psychological horror. Her latest role as trailblazing ’90s boxer Christy Martin might just be her most powerful yet – if not controversial.

The biographical boxing drama traces Christy over two decades of her life, from her time as a young closeted lesbian in her conservative town in West Virginia, through her abusive relationship with her ex-husband and burgeoning boxing career, to the mid-00s when she changed her life for good.

It’s a tale of resilience, how two radically different lives can run in parallel (one behind doors and one in front of the cameras), and the strength of one woman as she decides to stand up for what is right – even if it is the long way round.

Taking on the task of bringing a real person to life brought Sydney into Christy’s orbit – and seems to have changed her for good as well.

‘I hope that Christy opens up doors for others. I hope they watch this and realise they’re not alone. I’ve always said I hope people become Christy strong, because she made me Christy strong, and I hope that she inspires people,’ she says to Metro.

As for how the former professional boxer had such a strong influence, she explains: ‘Oh, I talked to Christy almost every day. We had her there with us during prep, and she came to set more often than not. It was always just a treat to be able to have her there.’

‘I’ve learned a lot from [her]. I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned to stand up for myself more, to be stronger. I feel like I’m still discovering more ways in which Christy is inspiring who I am,’ she adds.

Despite the heaviness of several of the scenes as we watch Christy shrink under her husband Jim Martin’s (Ben Foster) violent hand, director David Michod shares that there was still levity on set.

Especially since the vast majority of scenes between Christy and Jim in the house were filmed in the first week, which is never ideal, although they tried to make the most of it.

He continues: ‘It’s really harrowing [those scenes], but even (and this is going to sound terrible) when you’re doing the heaviest, heaviest stuff, you have to keep a levity on set.

‘You have to keep it light, because otherwise it can just crush you. And it’s the beauty of Sydney. I loved working with her because she turned up to work every day, just happy to be there.’

Both David and writer Mirrah Foulkes knew they wanted to cast Sydney in the lead role when they saw her in the little-known feature movie, Reality, in which she plays a whistleblowing reality winner.

‘We were both completely blown away by her performance in that film. I think it’s extraordinary. We just went: “oh, she’s the real deal.”

‘We knew that she had the physical background [as] she’d done some fighting when she was younger. She was definitely the right stature. She felt like the right fit, physically, for Christy,’ Mirrah shares.

She continues: ‘When we saw that movie, we were suddenly very excited about the prospect of her taking on this role, and it’s a huge undertaking [which] she committed [to] with every little ounce of her soul. 

‘She really put everything into the movie, and not just the physical side of it. There was zero vanity, and she was very kind [and] open.’

When Christy’s story first came Mirrah’s way through a Netflix documentary, she was ‘really shocked that one woman’s life could have held so many extraordinary moments.’

After spending weeks in conversation with Christy, travelling around the US visiting her old boxing gyms and the places where she had grown from a girl to a woman, they all set off on the journey of adapting her story for the big screen.

In the movie, Christy undergoes a radical transformation from deep repression and outward hatred to becoming an advocate for domestic abuse survivors and LGBTQ+ rights.

‘Christy feels a lot of shame about how she acted early in her career, particularly in terms of outing other gay athletes… but she was in this place of extreme repression. 

‘[Often] victims become perpetrators in all different forms of abuse. It’s a really fascinating aspect of her personality. There was so much self-loathing and self-hatred about who she really was that she was outwardly choosing to tear down these women.

‘I would like to think that we can learn how to break these cycles [and that] at the other side of that can be incredible redemption.

‘These days, we can be a bit funny about shutting someone down and not give them a chance to transform into something else. Maybe the internet’s to blame for that, but it’s one of the things about Christy that I really love.’ 

Christy is in UK cinemas from Friday, November 28.

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