Sydney Sweeney details major body transformation for boxing biopic – gaining 30lbs for role
The currently untitled biopic is coming to cinemas later this year.
When Sydney Sweeney got the gig of portraying female boxer Christy Martin in her biopic, she stopped at nothing to get into shape and fully immerse herself to prepare for the role.
In an interview with W Magazine, director David Michôd said that the actress has gained more than 30 pounds to play the athlete, who was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020 – the first year that women were allowed on the ballot.
"I loved it," Sweeney told the publication of training for the film. "I came onboard to play Christy, and I had about three and a half months of training. I started eating. I weight-trained in the morning for an hour, kick-boxed midday for about two hours and then weight-trained again at night for an hour."
The currently untitled movie follows Martin's story as the first breakout star in US female boxing and will trace her rise to fame.
"Our film is a wild mix of inspiring underdog sports-world story and personal saga. Sydney trained her butt off to play the part. The beauty of Sydney is that she turned up to work every day with her tail wagging, ready to go. No matter how tough it was, she was like a ray of sunshine," Michôd told W Magazine of the film.
But it wasn't just strength training that went into preparing for the role, with Sweeney also wearing brown contact lenses and donning a brunette mullet wig for the role.
She told the publication: "My body was completely different. I didn't fit in any of my clothes. I'm usually a size 23 in jeans, and I was wearing a size 27. It was crazy! I was like, 'Oh my god.' But it was amazing: I was so strong, like crazy strong."
Read more:
- The Salt Path's Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson on hopes film changes perspectives on homelessness
- John Wick's Ian McShane reveals how Ana de Armas's Bond role led to Ballerina
Sweeney has quite the exciting road ahead for her, with the actress having recently wrapped production on The Housemaid, in which she stars alongside Amanda Seyfried, and she is also currently filming for Euphoria season 3.
"Cassie is crazy," she teased of the third and final instalment of the teen drama during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Asked if Cassie is "still" crazy", Sweeney responded: "Oh, she's even worse."
If you're looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or visit our Film hub for all the latest news. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
