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<\/p>\nTORONTO, Canada \u2013 From donning a prosthetic penis to simulating bizarre sex work in a steamy motel room, Sydney Sweeney was \u201cup for anything\u201d while filming her Oscar-tipped role in boxing drama Christy, said its director.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old American actress, who has made negative headlines recently for controversial jeans advertisements, has become a contender for the Academy Awards for her portrayal of pioneering American female fighter Christy Martin.<\/p>\n
The movie had its world premiere on Sept 5 at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Sweeney\u2019s performance and physical transformation drew glowing reviews.<\/p>\n
Though ostensibly a boxing biopic, Christy swiftly develops into a surprisingly dark tale of domestic abuse and misogynistic control, as Sweeney\u2019s pugilist falls under the jealous and violent sway of her coach and husband Jim (Ben Foster).<\/p>\n
As well as visceral and bloody battles in the boxing ring, the film calls on Sweeney to take on many daring and deeply unglamorous scenes. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever the movie needs, she\u2019ll go there. She\u2019s just fearless,\u201d said Australian film-maker David Michod.<\/p>\n
In one scene, her character is coerced by her husband into shooting a disturbing homemade sex video involving a fake penis. <\/p>\n
In another, he essentially pimps her out to a man who pays for a highly sexualised grapple in a motel room, which makes for difficult viewing.<\/p>\n
In real life, a broke Jim really did \u201cset up these scenarios where men would pay to spar with her\u201d, explained Michod.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wasn\u2019t having sex with these guys… But it\u2019s a kind of weird sex work.\u201d <\/p>\n
It is all a far cry from Sweeney\u2019s glamorous public persona.<\/p>\n
Having broken through with roles in acclaimed HBO series Euphoria (2019 to present) and The White Lotus (2021 to present), the in-demand actress had become the lucrative face of several brands.<\/p>\n
Most notably, a series of American Eagle clothing ads proclaiming the blue-eyed and blonde-haired star \u201chas great jeans\u201d were accused of evoking eugenics and even having white supremacist undertones. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
An electronic billboard displays an American Eagle ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney in New York on Aug 21.<\/p>\n
PHOTO: REUTERS<\/p>\n
Sweeney swiftly shut down any questions on the topic at the Toronto premiere of Christy, but Michod said the controversy had never fazed her.<\/p>\n
\u201cSydney is a creature of the internet. She has a way of just moving through this stuff. I mean, yeah, she\u2019s healthily ambitious and she\u2019s very good at what she does.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s out there in the world. And I\u2019m actually very admiring of her, and I\u2019ve stopped worrying about things that I can\u2019t control.\u201d <\/p>\n
The brouhaha does not appear likely to impede Sweeney\u2019s nascent Oscar bid. Christy is set for release in November \u2013 a prime slot for awards campaigns.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of Chick-fil-A, a lot of Smucker\u2019s, a lot of milkshakes, a lot of protein shakes,\u201d Sweeney said of gaining weight to alter her appearance. \u201cI trained three times a day, every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps more impressively, she is called upon to play Martin across more than 20 years of her life, from a vulnerable and naive teenage ingenue to a grizzled abuse survivor.<\/p>\n
Martin, 57, in Toronto for the premiere, gushed over Sweeney\u2019s transformative performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wasn\u2019t the beautiful, sexy Sydney. She was the tough, rugged Christy in this movie, and I think it\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
American actor Foster, 44, also offered effusive praise for his co-star.<\/p>\n
\u201cSydney is a smokehouse. She\u2019s the real deal,\u201d he said. \u201cShe puts in the work. I think you all will be mind-blown by what she does in this film.\u201d AFP<\/p>\n
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