Sydney Sweeney is pulling no punches about why she nearly walked away from Hollywood while shooting her bruising new boxing biopic Christy.
The 28-year-old blonde bombshell transforms into real-life fighter Christy Martin in the film, enduring a bloody nose, a concussion, and months of grueling two-a-day training sessions that left her packing on serious muscle and gaining 35 pounds.
But according to Sweeney, none of that made her want to quit acting — instead, it made her want to ditch Hollywood for the ring.
Speaking with Ethan Hawke for Variety & CNN’s Actors on Actors, the star said the punishing prep reignited an old fire after years playing a high schooler on Euphoria and a rom-com lead in Anyone But You.
‘I grew up kickboxing, so I wanted to find something a little more physical,’ she told Hawke.
‘I loved it, I was working out twice a day, every single day,’ she said of her Christy preparation. ‘I put on 35 pounds. I came to life. I was like, “I think I might quit acting, and start boxing.”’
Sydney Sweeney is pulling no punches about why she nearly walked away from Hollywood while shooting her bruising new boxing biopic Christy; (pictured December 2)
The 28-year-old blonde bombshell transforms into real-life fighter Christy Martin, enduring bloody noses, a concussion, and grueling two-a-day training — and none of it made her want to quit acting, just ditch Hollywood for the ring
But the transformation came with bruises — literally.
‘I got a concussion, though,’ she admitted.
‘I was proud of it. I loved the fighting sequences. We actually took all the fights from Christy’s real life. Every fight that you saw in the movie was the exact combinations that she had in those fights.
‘I told all the stunt girls, “I really want to be hit.” And they were down for me to hit them.
‘We were just going at each other. There were bloody noses. It was real.’
For Sweeney, stepping into the ring felt natural — maybe even fated.
She’s always been drawn to boxing stories, confessing she ‘always loved the “Rocky” franchise’.
Sweeney also opened up about returning to Euphoria, where she slipped back into the world of high schooler Cassie and revealed she’d just wrapped the HBO hit’s long-awaited third season with Zendaya.
‘I loved it, I was working out twice a day, every single day,’ she said of her Christy preparation, adding, ‘I put on 35 pounds. I came to life. I was like, “I think I might quit acting, and start boxing”‘
Speaking with Ethan Hawke for Variety & CNN’s Actors on Actors, the star said the punishing prep reignited an old fire after years playing a high schooler on Euphoria and a rom-com lead in Anyone But You
‘I got a concussion, though,’ she admitted
The series premiered in June 2019 and has racked up multiple Emmy wins, including Zendaya’s historic Best Lead Actress trophy.
It follows a group of teens navigating love, addiction, and identity, with standout performances from Hunter Schafer, Jacob Elordi, Alexa Demie, and the late Angus Cloud alongside Sweeney.
‘Euphoria was the beginning of everything for me,’ Sweeney said.
‘Cassie is a very emotional and heart-driven character, so I had to be very free with every choice that I made. I had to not question myself. I had to just dive in, make crazy decisions and not judge what I was doing,’ she explained.
‘And the more I did it — I just wrapped Season 3 — I am so thankful, because I’m not scared to try something, even if it’s completely bonkers. Sam [Levinson] would always go, “All right, let’s just do a Cassie crazy take.”
‘And they were always our favorite takes because we would let all rules go and lose yourself to it.’
She added that those raw, unfiltered moments are the ones that always end up standing out.
‘Especially with Cassie, I always find that those crazy takes — they’re the ones.’
Sweeney also opened up about returning to Euphoria, where she slipped back into the world of high schooler Cassie and revealed she’d just wrapped the HBO hit’s long-awaited third season with Zendaya
‘Euphoria was the beginning of everything for me,’ Sweeney said
Meanwhile, Sweeney stepped up to defend Christy after the film was snubbed at the 2026 Golden Globes.
Critics praised her performance, but the movie flopped at the box office.
Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, she shared Sports Illustrated’s December cover featuring herself and Christy side by side. In a heartfelt post, she wrote:
‘This is the most important film I’ve ever made. For 20 years, Christy Martin was one of the strongest women in the world inside the ring. But at home, she was abused and nearly killed by the man who claimed to love her.
‘Her story isn’t just about boxing. It’s about identity, survival, and the unimaginable strength it takes to reclaim your life after someone has taken everything from you.
‘In the United States, about 20 people are physically abused by an intimate partner every single minute.
‘And that’s why this story matters. So like Christy herself, we’re not going anywhere. We’re here to tell the truth. We’re here to stand with survivors.
‘And if this film helps even one person feel seen, understood, or less alone, then we’ve done something that matters.
‘Thank you for watching. Thank you for sharing. I hope Christy stays with you long after the credits roll. It has for me.’
The film was made on a $15 million budget but has so far earned just $2 million, a major loss.
It pulled in $1.3 million in the US and Canada on its opening weekend, landing among the 12 worst openings ever for a new release on over 2,000 screens.