Christy star Sydney Sweeney has said she felt "beyond sore" after each day inside the ring shooting the boxing biopic, but revealed that the punishing ordeal meant she "felt like a real fighter".
In the upcoming sports drama, the Hollywood star plays famed American boxer Christy Martin, who is credited with putting female boxing on the map in the mid-nineties.
Christy, directed by David Michôd (The King, Animal Kingdom) and written by Michôd and Mirrah Foulkes, chronicles her inspiring, often tumultuous life in and outside of the ring.
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment alongside her co-star Ben Foster, Sweeney said that she "knew how important the story was and the weight of what I was about to carry of Christy", but said the pressure didn't give her pause.
Sweeney, who was also a producer on the project, said she was "so beyond excited to be able to be a part of this".
As well as following Martin's journey from small town obscurity to international prominence, the film also explores her struggles to hide her homosexuality in a conservative, repressive environment, and relationship with her trainer turned manager-husband Jim Martin (Ben Foster), who becomes increasingly controlling and abusive.
Foster told RTÉ Entertainment that he was "unfamiliar" with the shocking story at the outset, but as he began to learn "more and more" about his character and the concept of coercive control, it gave him added determination to get it right.
"What was most interesting to me is someone who has such a need to control someone, steer their life in every possible way - in a slow, progressive way - became frighteningly common as I understood the concept of coercive control," Foster explained.
"And that makes the service of the job much, I don't want to say easy, but purposeful."
Sweeney's admiration and respect for Martin is abundantly apparent when she is talking about the boxing legend. Martin was heavily involved in the making of the film - acting as a consultant and spending time on set to ensure her story was told accurately.
"Having her around was always the highlight of my day," Sweeney enthused. "Christy is so full of life, she's so inspiring. She has fought her way through everything in life and seeing who she is now - she's happy and she's funny and she's everybody's best friend - I truly love her."
The Euphoria and The White Lotus star had months of prep and gruelling training ahead of the role to transform into the boxing great. Her dedication and grit is evident in the visceral, expertly shot fight scenes where she is actually pulling punches in the ring.
The actor admitted she felt "so sore" after a day's shooting.
"My friend Kaylee [McGregor], she works with me, she would be icing my face and my body and I'd be so beyond sore," she said.
"But I felt like a real fighter. I was like, 'I can't wait to get back in that ring.'"
Foster was effusive in his praise for his co-star.
"It's just such a gift to work with somebody who has the care and professionalism and good humour in very dark places and Syd is a champ," he said.
Sweeney said there was a lot of trust between her and Foster, which was crucial when taking on such delicate subjects.
"It's always such a pleasure to work with another actor who truly listens and Ben does," she said. "And we can just listen in those moments and sit together and trust each other and discover things that are unwritten and between the lines."
It's clear the experience of making the film was profoundly meaningful to Sweeney.
"I remember the last time I was standing in the ring, it was one of the last fights that we were filming, and I stood there and I finally took it in. I don't take a lot of moments in and I'm trying to get better at that," she said.
"But it was one of those moments that I finally stood at and I was like, 'Wow, I truly just lived out my dream.' And I was like, I'll probably never get to do something like this again. It was a very bittersweet moment."
Christy is in cinemas on 28 November.
