Sydney Sweeney says she found the emotional demands of playing boxer Christy Martin in boxing biopic “Christy” more challenging than the intense physical transformation required for the role.
“The emotional fight and the fight behind closed doors, I think, was even more powerful and more strenuous than the actual fighting itself,” Sweeney told Joe McGovern at TheWrap’s studio at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. “I think we all knew the story that we were telling and the importance of what we were sharing for others. And so it was a lot of weight, but it was also one of the most moving experiences of my life.”
If you’ve never heard of Christy Martin, you’re about to. Martin was a professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2012, and “Christy” looks to bring her professional and personal life to the screen in dazzling detail, with Sweeney eschewing her usual blonde bombshell looks for the lead role. She also produced the film.
Director David Michôd added that Sweeney was crucial to the project’s success: “I was just very excited about the idea of making use of what I already knew of her physical skills, also making use of what I knew of her acting skills. I had seen them in a number of different places,” he said. “I knew there was an amazing performance in Sydney, and then it became about building around that, and finding a gym was always going to be a challenge.”
Michôd also co-wrote the screenplay with Mirrah Foulkes. Katherine Fugate has a Story By credit. Ben Foster plays her trainer and husband James V. Martin, who was said to be emotionally and physically abusive throughout their relationship. He also, later in life, tried to kill her — and died in prison. The supporting cast includes Ethan Embry, Merritt Wever and fighter-turned-actor Katy O’Brian.
“We all knew it was going to be a challenge, but also how important the challenge was,” Sweeney said. “We’re all really lucky and proud to be able to share this movie with everybody.”
In his review of the film, TheWrap’s Chase Hutchinson praised Sweeney’s performance: “Yes, she impresses in how she believably embodies being a boxer, but it’s the small character details where she really shines. Be it in a smile in the ring or an impassioned speech, we feel the nuances in her performance that the film itself is often lacking. Even when the experience writ large threatens to dull her spark, Sweeney never lets it die out.”
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