Sydney Sweeney hopes Christy Martin biopic ‘opens doors’ for LGBTQ+ community
Sydney Sweeney is ‘so excited’ for queer people to watch her new film Christy. (Getty/Black Bear Pictures)
Sydney Sweeney is 'so excited' for queer people to watch her new film Christy. (Getty/Black Bear Pictures)
Actress Sydney Sweeney hopes her new queer film Christy, a biopic of the former professional boxer Christy Martin, will “open doors” for the LGBTQ+ community.
The 28-year-old Euphoria actress plays the titular super middleweight boxing champ in Christy, which charts Martin’s tumultuous journey from closeted West Virginia teen to boxing sensation.
Christy follows Martin through her groundbreaking rise to stardom as one of boxing’s first female boxing champions, and her harrowing, abusive relationship with her coach and husband Jim Martin (played by Ben Foster).
The film also details the impossible reality of being a closeted lesbian sportsperson in the ‘90s and early 2000s.
Speaking to PinkNews on the red carpet at the film’s premiere at the 69th BFI London Film Festival, Sydney Sweeney said she is “so excited” for the queer community to watch the film.
“I am so excited for them to see Christy. She is an unbelievable advocate for the community and I believe this is a beautiful story to tell,” she shared.
“I hope that she opens doors for others.”
Sweeney, best known for her role as troubled teen Cassie Howard in HBO’s Euphoria, has previously explained the physical transformation she had to undertake to carry out the role.
In addition to vigorous training routine, she had to gain 30 pounds in order to fit the stature of a boxing pro punching her way to the top of the game.
Clearly, the role was worth it. Speaking to Bustle earlier this year, she gushed about Martin’s “inspiring” story, and called the part a “dream”.
“She has faced many challenges inside and outside the ring. I was blown away and inspired by her strength, her perseverance, and who she is as a woman,” she said.
“Having a character that has so many layers and depths, that’s a dream as an actor.
“Then, on the physical side, I grew up kickboxing and grappling. I’m a very outdoorsy, athletic person, so to play a character that [required me] to transform myself was a dream. I loved every part of it.”
Christy is due for theatrical release on 7 November in the US and 28 November in the UK.
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