{"id":203364,"date":"2025-09-05T22:05:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T22:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/203364\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T22:05:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T22:05:12","slug":"sydney-sweeney-enters-oscar-race-at-tiff-with-christy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/203364\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney Sweeney Enters Oscar Race at TIFF with ‘Christy’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSydney Sweeney<\/a> has the goods to punch her way into the Oscar race for \u201cChristy<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe talented actress completely transforms in \u201cChristy,\u201d a bruising, emotionally charged biopic about groundbreaking boxer Christy Martin. Directed by Australian filmmaker David Mich\u00f4d (\u201cAnimal Kingdom\u201d), the film chronicles Martin\u2019s rise as the most recognizable female boxer in the late 1980\u2019s America, as well as the harrowing 2010 attempt on her life by her husband and former trainer.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film bowed at this year\u2019s Toronto International Film Festival to a strong response, positioning Sweeney for a serious run at a best actress nomination \u2014 if the right campaign materializes.<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin was onstage with Sweeney, Mich\u00f4d and the rest of the cast as the Princess of Wales Theatre crowd hollered.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cChristy, you are absolutely incredible, and I\u2019m so honored. I\u2019m gonna cry! Oh my God, you\u2019re so inspirational,\u201d Sweeney said while wiping back tears. \u201cAnd so being able to have her by my side during this process was a dream, but then also just scary too, because you\u2019re like, \u2018Oh my gosh. Like, we\u2019re, we\u2019re doing this in front of her!\u2019 And I wasn\u2019t quite sure. I mean, she\u2019s the greatest boxer in the entire world, and I\u2019m having to do hooks and hits, and I\u2019m like, I hope and do this, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMartin, who was holding her real-life dog onstage before the pooch ran off to laughs from the crowd, praised Sweeney\u2019s metamorphosis.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShe wasn\u2019t the beautiful, sexy Sydney. She was the tough, rugged Christy,\u201d Martin said. <\/p>\n

\n\tSweeney touched on the intense regiment that helped her mould her body into that of an elite boxer. \u201cI trained for two, three months before [shooting]. I had boxing coach, I had weight trainers, I had nutritionists. I trained three times a day, every day, and then while I was filming, I trained as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAnd ate a lot of Chick-fil-A,\u201d Mich\u00f4d interjected.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYeah, a lot of milk shakes, a lot of protein shakes,\u201d Sweeney added of her increased caloric intake. \u201cBut it was incredible being able to completely embody such a powerful woman. I felt even stronger. It was truly inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn many ways, \u201cChristy\u201d plays like Sydney Sweeney\u2019s \u201cI, Tonya\u201d (2017) \u2014 a gritty, career-defining showcase that could catapult her into Oscar contention, just as Margot Robbie\u2019s breakout in the biopic did. Like Robbie, Sweeney vanishes into the role, delivering a raw, physically demanding performance that marks the most mature and compelling work of her career. It\u2019s a striking transformation: the typically petite star adds noticeable muscle and heft, and is entirely convincing as a woman whose punches feel like they leave real bruises, not only on her opponents but also on the audience.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt just 27, Sweeney already has two Emmy nominations under her belt \u2014 one for \u201cEuphoria\u201d and another for \u201cThe White Lotus\u201d in 2022 \u2014 and her presence as both star and producer on \u201cChristy\u201d speaks to a strategic pivot toward more prestige-driven material. With the industry warming up to her for some time, this might be the moment they fully embrace her.<\/p>\n

\n\tStill, history hasn\u2019t always been kind to women in the boxing movie arena. While the sport has delivered Oscar gold to the likes of Robert De Niro (\u201cRaging Bull\u201d) and nominees like Sylvester Stallone (\u201cRocky\u201d), only one female-led boxing role has ever translated to Oscar success: Hilary Swank\u2019s win for best actress in \u201cMillion Dollar Baby\u201d (2004). That\u2019s one nomination, one win, and a long drought since. Fun fact: they mention this very performance in the movie.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Academy tends to favor physical transformations and high emotional stakes in the acting races \u2014 both of which Sweeney delivers in spades. She reportedly trained extensively to portray Martin, and the film spans over three decades of the athlete\u2019s life, ticking off the kind of biopic beats the Academy has long favored.<\/p>\n

\n\tBen Foster, one of the most consistently underrated actors of his generation, co-stars as Jim Martin, Christy\u2019s abusive husband and trainer. It\u2019s a volatile and complex role that echoes performances like Laurence Fishburne\u2019s portrayal of Ike Turner in \u201cWhat\u2019s Love Got to Do With It?\u201d (1993). In the instance of Fishburne, it\u2019s one of the rare times that playing a violent and abusive character resulted in an acting nomination.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe fact is, if you play a character too loathsome, the Actors Branch may look the other way. Look at Danny Glover, whose chilling turn in \u201cThe Color Purple\u201d (1985) remains one of the Academy\u2019s most notorious snubs, despite the film landing 11 nominations. Foster\u2019s portrayal walks a fine line \u2014 repugnant yet human \u2014 and while he\u2019s long overdue for recognition (\u201cLone Survivor,\u201d \u201c3:10 to Yuma,\u201d \u201cLeave No Trace\u201d), this could be a tough nomination to land.<\/p>\n

\n\tStill, it\u2019s worth noting the Academy\u2019s historical soft spot for boxing trainers (even if he is a monster). Acting nods have gone to Burgess Meredith (\u201cRocky\u201d), Paul Giamatti (\u201cCinderella Man\u201d), Clint Eastwood and winner Morgan Freeman (\u201cMillion Dollar Baby\u201d). Foster\u2019s role is certainly not cut from the same cloth \u2014 far darker and more morally fraught. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe ensemble includes memorable turns from Katy O\u2019Brian as Christy\u2019s friend and formal rival, Lisa Holewyne and Merritt Wever as Christy\u2019s cold mother. Still, the standout among the supporting cast might be Chad L. Coleman, who delivers a wickedly entertaining, almost uncanny portrayal of boxing impresario Don King. <\/p>\n

\n\tWritten by Katherine Fugate, Mirrah Foulkes and Mich\u00f4d, \u201cChristy\u201d compresses a sprawling, three-decade narrative into a gritty, character-driven sports drama. It\u2019s a tough and jarring watch \u2014 especially in scenes of domestic violence, which requires trigger warnings for some viewers, but it resonates with urgency and purpose in a world that often seems like it\u2019s turning its back on the #MeToo movement.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Sweeney\u2019s road to the Dolby Theatre is far from guaranteed \u2014 it\u2019s a crowded field this year, with serious contenders such as Jessie Buckley (\u201cHamnet\u201d) and Renate Reinsve (\u201cSentimental Value\u201d). However, \u201cChristy\u201d has all the ingredients of a viable contender: a transformative lead performance, emotional intensity, social relevance and the biopic blueprint the Academy so often rewards.<\/p>\n

\n\tBehind the camera, the producing team includes Mich\u00f4d, Sweeney, Kerry Kohansky-Roberts, Justin Lothrop, Brent Stiefel and Teddy Schwarzman. The film is set for release Nov. 7 via Black Bear Pictures, giving it a prime awards-season slot.<\/p>\n

\n\tShe may be in the fight of her career \u2014 but don\u2019t count her out just yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sydney Sweeney has the goods to punch her way into the Oscar race for \u201cChristy.\u201d The talented actress…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":201143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[110971,171,15801,21218,64287,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-203364","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-christy","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-oscars","11":"tag-sydney-sweeney","12":"tag-tiff","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115153962575718191","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}