Sydney Sweeney on gaining weight for Christy Martin movie: "My body was completely different"

Actors do all kinds of crazy things to prepare for a movie role. Gaining or losing weight is one of them. Massive transformations to portray film roles are as common as they are impressive; think Aamir Khan in Dangal, Christian Bale for The Machinist, Colin Farrell for The Batman, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis for The Black Swan, Chris Hemsworth, and almost every other actor for superhero movies. The newest person to join this unending list is Sydney Sweeney, who recently opened up about her transformation in order to play Christy Martin.  

Following the trailblazing career of Christy Martin, Sydney Sweeney has prepped herself to portray the role of the boxing star by gaining a whopping 30 pounds (13 kg). “I came onboard to play Christy, and I had about three and a half months of training," she told W magazine in an interview.  "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." Her body changed thanks to this routine. “My body was completely different,” Sweeney 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 boobs got bigger. And my butt got huge. It was crazy! I was like, Oh my god.” There was also a positive side to it, Sweeney noticed, as she pointed out,  “It was amazing: I was so strong, like crazy strong.”

Sweeney is all set to star as Christy in an untitled sports biopic directed by David Michod, who also co-wrote the script with Mirrah Foulkes. The film follows the story of Martin's rise to becoming America’s most well-known female boxer in the 1990s. The former American professional boxer, paved the way for women in the sport by competing in the West Virginia “toughman” contest in 1987; the first year women were allowed to compete in the sport without any formal training. She was the first woman on the cover of Sports Illustrated and competed from 1989 to the mid-2010s, while also holding the World Boxing Council female super welterweight title in 2009. In 2020, Martin was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Her life was also deeply marred by personal tragedy. In 2010, she was stabbed, shot and left for dead by her then-husband of 19 years, James Martin. The two married when she was 24 and he was 49, prior to which he was her coach. He was found guilty of attempted second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison nearly two years later. Christy Martin later found happiness as she married her former boxing rival, Lisa Holewyne, in 2017.

In an Instagram post shared by Sweeney, she shared about portraying the role, "I don’t usually write a lot in my captions but this movie and experience I feel needs more than just a few words. We have wrapped filming Christy Martin’s story and it has been one of the most emotional, transformative experiences of my life. Christy’s journey is so deeply inspiring, and having her by my side during this process was nothing short of surreal. There were moments on set where I’d glance over at her standing by the monitors, cheering us on, and I’d just become so emotional. Knowing what she’s endured, what she’s pushed through to be there in that moment—it made me want to cry."

On the movie and it being a lesson in resilience, she said, "This story is so much bigger than just a film. It’s a testament to resilience, survival, and finding the strength to keep fighting. I can’t wait for you all to see it—not only because I’m proud of the transformation and the work I’ve poured into it, but because Christy’s story deserves to be told. And yes, you’ll get to see me kick some serious ass (like seriously kicked some ass) ((like I might’ve enjoyed it a little toooooo much while kicking ass haha)), but most importantly, you’ll witness a story that’s as powerful as the woman who lived it. I’ll carry this experience with me forever. Can’t wait to share more"