Sydney Sweeney was not afraid to pull punches when playing real-life Christy Martin in the upcoming biopic about the boxer, which wrapped production last November. To prepare for the role, Sweeney transformed her body, adding 30 pounds and going up four jean sizes. “But it was amazing: I was so strong, like crazy strong,” she explained to W Magazine.
“Love Lies Bleeding” star Katy O’Brien played opposite Sweeney in the ring and admitted in an interview with Variety that she “got punched quite a few times,” but said, “It felt good. It was great. It better read well on camera.”
“Even with [Sweeney’s] extra 30 pounds, I would still have 20 to 30 pounds on her, so it never feels good,” O’Brian did lament when discussing having to hit Sweeney in various scenes. But not only did the “Euphoria” actress not “seem to care very much,” Sweeney told O’Brian, “If you break my nose, that’s fine.”
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O’Brian, meanwhile, was about to start production on Edgar Wright’s production of Stephen King’s “The Running Man” and requested that Sweeney try to keep O’Brian’s nose intact.
Martin is one of the most groundbreaking figures in women’s boxing — she was the first and only female boxer, in fact, to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Martin’s story includes the survival of extreme physical abuse from her ex-husband, coach, and manager Jim Martin, who was convicted of attempting to murder her.
“Christy will forever be one of the most inspiring in my life… She has faced such tremendous challenges inside and outside the ring, and her story inspired me beyond anything, and I cannot wait for other people to be inspired by her,” Sweeney told IndieWire earlier this month. “She’s just one of the most strong women I’ve ever met.”
“Our film is a wild mix of inspiring underdog sports-world story and personal saga,” director and co-writer David Michôd told W. “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.”
Christy Martin’s story was also recounted in an episode of the Netflix documentary “Untold: Deal With the Devil.”
