Los Angeles: Sydney Sweeney is going all in for her role as boxing icon Christy Martin in an upcoming biopic — and that includes a major physical transformation that the actress says changed her body in surprising ways.
The Euphoria star gained over 13 kilos (more than 30 pounds) for the role, according to director David Michod. Sweeney shared with W Magazine how intense her preparation was, both physically and emotionally.
“I loved it,” Sweeney said about the months of training. “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, kickboxed midday for about two hours and then weight-trained again at night for an hour.”
But beyond strength and endurance, Sweeney also opened up about how the transformation reshaped her curves — in a way that even surprised her.
“My body was completely different,” she said. “I didn’t fit in any of my clothes. I’m usually a size 23 in jeans, and I was wearing a size 27. My b***s got bigger. And my b*** got huge. It was crazy! I was like, ‘Oh my god.’ But it was amazing: I was so strong, like crazy strong.”
The actress further transformed her appearance with brown contact lenses and a brunette mullet-style wig to match Martin’s real-life look.
Last year, while filming was underway, Sweeney shared early images of her boxing persona on social media, writing: “Over the past few months, I’ve been immersed in training to bring to life the story of an incredible woman—a true champion who fought battles both inside and outside the ring.”
The yet-untitled biopic, scripted by Michod and Mirrah Foulkes, will chronicle Martin’s meteoric rise in women’s boxing during the 1990s and the dark personal battles she faced, including a harrowing brush with death at the hands of her abusive husband.
The film is set for release later this year.
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