Sydney Sweeney and Ben Foster reveal how one Christy scene was "ruined" while filming

Christy Martin's self-titled biopic Christy is now available to watch in UK cinemas several weeks after its US release, telling the inspiring and, at times, deeply harrowing story of Martin, who rose to boxing stardom in the '90s and early '00s – and does not shy away from depicting the most intense parts of Martin's life.

Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney leads the cast, and gives a career-best performance as the titular boxer. She is joined by actor Ben Foster, who plays Christy's ex-husband James V Martin – who was convicted of the attempted second-degree murder of his wife in 2010.

Among the film's gentler presences are Christy Martin's Pomeranian dogs – one first named Casey, and now, one named Champ – the latter of whom is often pictured with Martin at premieres and other public events.

And it appears that the canine certainly made his presence known behind-the-scenes of Christy, as Sweeney and Foster shared in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com.

Foster recalled: "Christy and I didn't speak on set, and that's very appropriate. But I'll say that a beautiful backwards compliment was that she was nearby in a scene holding Champ, the real dog.

"And when I walked in, the dog ruined the take by barking over [Sweeney's] dialogue.

"And I was like, 'Oh okay, good. It's making people uncomfortable in the right ways'."

Smiling, Sweeney added: "The dog knew."

Sweeney herself also shared some of her memories working with the dog actor in the film and who, as it seems, had very little interest in stardom. "The dog did not wanna bond with anyone," Sweeney laughed. "This dog was not aware that the dog was in a movie.

"Honestly, the shot when I'm like shadowboxing outside the trailer. We got so lucky that Casey stayed in frame, because the dog did not want to be in any scene, unfortunately.

"Casey thought she was just there for more friends and just wanted to hang out."

She also added: "I think the dog was the wrong gender. I can't pinpoint exactly, but I want to say the dog was the wrong gender for the film, but it was the only dog who looked like [her]."

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Sweeney further shared that Christy Martin "visited set a lot" throughout the making of Christy, and the two of them became "real good friends" as filming went on.

Martin herself has lavished praise on Sweeney's performance in the film, telling Flickering Myth: "She did a great job."

She continued: "What's interesting that maybe a lot of people don't know is that [Sweeney] actually has an MMA background from when she was a teenager. So she already has that competitive spirit. The boxing, she enjoyed."

Christy is out now in UK cinemas.

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