Challengers reveals new look at Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist in action
Zendaya co-stars with the pair in the romantic sports drama from Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino.
Challengers has released a new look at Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist in action on the tennis court in Luca Guadagnino's sensual sports drama based on a three-way love triangle.
The film follows Zendaya as professional tennis player Tashi Duncan, while West Side Story's Mike Faist plays her husband, Art, a champion on a losing streak.
Tashi’s plan for Art’s comeback takes an unexpected turn when he must play against Patrick (The Crown's Josh O’Connor) – his former best friend and her former boyfriend – in the Challengers tennis tournament, which soon reignites old rivalries and tensions.
The new images from Empire magazine feature Faist's Art and O'Connor's Patrick shirtless, facing off on the side of the court, with Patrick smiling and eating a banana as he looks toward Art - who ignores his eye contact and looks straight ahead instead.
Meanwhile, Faist has revealed that director Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Your Name) only had a "vague interest in certain tennis and was more interested in the bodies and sweat".
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Speaking to Empire, Faist added: “He [Guadagnino] had no knowledge of tennis going into this."
Instead, the director was more interested in capturing the physicality and emotion of the characters than the specifics of the sport.
Zendaya said: "What Luca’s really good at is finding sensuality and desire. There’s so much in just glances. The tension builds. Not having the release is a good thing sometimes."
O'Connor added: “The tennis is the sex. Those moments are so sexy. The film is dealing with the tension before and after. The sex they’re all desperate for is on the court.”
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Guadagnino previously told IndieWire that the feature would be his “first comedy” before describing it as “a fairly fizzy, sexy movie about the world of tennis”.
To get into the role of a tennis player, it was reported that Zendaya trained for three months with former pro Brad Gilbert, who also served as a consultant on the film, according to Variety.
“We edited the movie and we almost actually don't use any of her double. She's so good," Guadagnino told the publication of Zendaya.
Challengers will arrive in cinemas on 15th September, 2023. Read more of our Film coverage, or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.
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