In the middle of our Zoom call, Sydney Sweeney's face freezes mid-sentence. A moment later, she disappears completely. Several minutes pass before she returns in a flurry.
"Sorry!" she said. "My internet stopped working! I'm currently living in a very beautiful and old house in Hollywood that was built in the 1920s. The house belonged to director Delmer Daves. He directed the original version of the Western '3:10 to Yuma,' among other things. His family owned the house until two years ago, and the whole house is still full of his belongings. There are tons of signed photos of Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe, along with scripts and posters, so it's really fascinating and special to be here. But because it's such an old house, the electricity and internet cut out every few minutes. I apologize."
The truth is that the internet malfunction turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Until that moment, it didn't really seem like the beautiful 28-year-old actress was planning to open up to me and my handful of colleagues from the international press. That is, she was very polite, professional, and nice, of course, but her answers were also very short and correct. Now the distance has broken. Sweeney's mood improved noticeably, and suddenly the conversation began to flow.
A controversial campaign
Sweeney has frequently appeared in headlines in recent years, usually for reasons not directly related to the films ("Anyone But You," "Reality") or series ("The White Lotus," "Euphoria") in which she appears. Her steamy photos from the red carpets she walks and the various (and usually viral) advertising campaigns she participates in tend to overshadow her impressive acting performances, and this has reached a peak in recent weeks.
A controversial jeans campaign in which Sweeney participated caused a storm due to the chosen slogan – "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans" – and led to calls for the actress's cancellation on the grounds that she promotes "white supremacy."
At the same time, "Christy," the new sports drama in which she stars as trailblazing boxer Christy Martin, crashed at the US box office, and Sweeney immediately became a punching bag on social media. It's a shame. Both because Sweeney does an exceptional job in the film and delivers her most impressive acting performance to date. But also, and mainly, because everyone knows the reactions to the box office failure would have been completely different if it were an actor (and not an actress).
"I'm still here," Sweeney told Israel Hayom and anyone rushing to eulogize her. "I'm still doing what I love to do. I have tons of projects I'm working on right now. I'm about to continue trying new things. I don't believe in giving up. Like Christy, I'm also a fighter, and I won't stop fighting. I think women – no matter what field they're in – have to deal with this gap, between our public persona or society's expectations of us, and who we really are. It's a universal problem."
You're in the eye of the storm. The public examines your every move. How do you stay sane?
"My great fortune is that I really love what I do. I'm in love with my work. I'm obsessive about each and every one of the projects I participate in. I want to participate in telling their stories, that's what excites me, and the truth is I function much better when I'm under pressure. I'm at a different level when I have tons of things to do, than when I'm sitting at home twiddling my thumbs waiting for something to happen. When you do what you love, it's easier to deal with everything around you."
Being Christy
Christy Martin was one of the significant and prominent figures in the women's boxing world of the 1990s, and she has many shares in the development of the field. But her struggles outside the ring were no less difficult and brutal than those conducted inside it. For many long years, Martin was forced to hide her sexual preferences and pretend she was straight. At some point, she also married her coach, who was significantly older than her, and was trapped in a toxic, violent, and abusive relationship. She only miraculously came out of it alive.
"Christy's story was very important to me," Sweeney said. "I wanted to give her my full attention, because she's a real person and everything you see in the film really happened to her. We spent tons of time together. She was on the set, we became very good friends, and she also really loved the film. I will thank her for the rest of my life for the impact she had on my life.
"We wanted to share Christy's story with the world, so that women would understand they aren't alone. So they would feel there's someone in their corner. That there's a community for them. I feel stronger now knowing Christy is in my corner, and that I'm in her corner."
You underwent a very serious physical transformation to portray Christy. You're unrecognizable. How did you get in shape? How did you prepare yourself for the role?
"The truth is, it wasn't foreign to me. I did kickboxing from age 12 to age 19. I participated in tournaments, won championships, I have medals – the whole thing. So I already knew the boxing world, the terminology, and how to fight. I felt like I was returning to my childhood love. I enjoyed every moment.
"In terms of research, I watched all of Christy's fights and all the documentaries made about her and had long conversations with her. Physically, I trained for three months. I had a dedicated boxing coach and a dedicated weights coach. I gained 15 kilos of muscle. I let myself get lost in the process. I went back home to Idaho. I live near my grandmother, so I turned her garage into a Rocky-style gym. I hung punching bags there. All day, I lifted weights and boxed. I drank tons and tons of protein shakes."
The healthy way to work
The hardest scenes in the film don't take place inside the boxing ring. They take place at home, with Christy's abusive husband, portrayed by Ben Foster. How hard was it to make the switch between Christy and Sydney at the end of the shooting day?
"I try to separate myself from my characters as much as possible. I don't bring my private thoughts or feelings into the character I'm portraying. While I'm on set, I think like Christy and move like Christy. The moment they say action, I become Christy. The moment they say cut, I go back to being Syd. I can be emotional, and the moment they say cut, I can return to myself and have normal conversations. This is the healthiest way for me to work, because I really portray many dark and complex characters. That way I don't bring work home with me."
As mentioned, despite the box office failure of "Christy" in the United States, Sweeney is definitely not going anywhere. Besides the new season of "Euphoria," which will air next spring, in two more weeks we'll also be able to find her starring in "The Housemaid," a much-discussed psychological thriller based on the bestseller by author Freida McFadden. In addition, Sweeney is producing and starring in a Hollywood drama called "Scandalous!", in which she is expected to portray legendary actress Kim Novak.
"I feel like everything I do is different and distinct from what I did before," she concluded. "That's what's so fun about being an actress. You don't have to do the same thing again and again. I can fall in love with different genres and different characters and challenge myself in all kinds of ways. It's good to challenge yourself. That's the only way you can grow and develop."
