Sydney Sweeney is earning rave early reviews for her portrayal of trailblazing boxer Christy Martin in ‘Christy’, a hard-hitting biopic that traces the former champion’s rise, struggles, and near-fatal encounter with domestic violence.
The film, set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday before its wide release on November 7, follows Martin’s journey from a small-town fighter to one of the most recognizable names in women’s boxing.
But it doesn’t shy away from her darkest chapter: the 2010 attack by her then-husband and former manager, James Martin, who stabbed and shot her in a brutal assault she miraculously survived.
For Sweeney, 27, the role demanded a transformation that went beyond acting. She committed to an intensive training and diet regimen, working out three times a day and eating on a near-constant cycle to bulk up her frame.
“Literally, a Chick-fil-A sandwich every hour and a milkshake,” Sweeney told The Times. “It was amazing to feel like I was turning into someone else.”
Christy Martin calls Sweeney a “perfectionist”
Martin herself has been impressed with the actress’s dedication. Speaking to DailyMail.com earlier this summer, months before she and Sweeney appeared together at the International Boxing Hall of Fame Parade in Canastota, New York, the former world champion praised her on-screen counterpart.
“She was really serious about her boxing,” Martin said. “And with depicting the domestic violence she wanted to make sure everything was right. She’s a perfectionist.”
That attention to detail, insiders say, has fueled the growing buzz around Christy and Sweeney’s performance, with some already tipping the star for her first Academy Award nomination.
Outside the ring, controversy lingers
While Sweeney has been lauded for her preparation and performance, she arrives at TIFF with added scrutiny.
Over the summer, she became the center of a social media firestorm after starring in an American Eagle campaign that used the tagline “good genes.” Critics called the ad tone-deaf and even likened it to “Nazi propaganda,” sparking heated debates online.
Others, however, defended the campaign as harmless and dismissed the outrage as overblown.
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