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\nSydney Sweeney told Vanity Fair in a new interview published Thursday, Sept. 4 that she and the actors portraying boxers in her new movie Christy are “actually punching each other” during fight sequences”I always believed that you would not be able to make it feel real if it\u2019s a stunt double or if it\u2019s faking the hits,” Sweeney, who portrays real life boxer Christy Martin in the movie, said Christy makes its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 5<\/p>\n
Sydney Sweeney<\/a> is throwing real punches in her new boxing movie Christy<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n When Sweeney, 27, spoke with Vanity Fair<\/a> in an article published Thursday, Sept. 4, ahead of Christy’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival<\/a>, the actress noted that she and the actors who portrayed boxers in the movie are actually fighting each other on the big screen, as opposed to using stunt doubles or pulling pretend punches.\n<\/p>\n \u201cEvery single fight you see, we are actually punching each other. We are going full force,\u201d Sweeney said. \u201cI always believed that you would not be able to make it feel real if it\u2019s a stunt double or if it\u2019s faking the hits.\u201d<\/p>\n In Christy, Sweeney plays real-life boxer Christy Martin<\/a>, who competed as a professional boxer in the 1990s and 2000s. Martin, now 57, was inducted into the\u00a0International Boxing Hall of Fame<\/a>\u00a0in 2020. Sweeney told the outlet that while making the movie, she grew surprised that Martin’s “story wasn\u2019t more known on a universal, global level because it\u2019s just one of the most harrowing and inspiring women that I\u2019ve ever met in my entire life.”<\/p>\n Sydney Sweeney on April 1, 2025.<\/p>\n lberto E. Rodriguez\/Getty\u00a0<\/p>\n Though Sweeney practiced combat sports as a teenager, she still spent three months boxing for several hours each day in addition to weight training and gaining some 30 pounds to portray Martin. “My stances and a lot of my technique is different than boxing,” Sweeney said of her past combat sports experience in jujitsu, grappling and kickboxing. “You square up differently, and of course you don\u2019t get brought to the ground \u2014 everything\u2019s on your feet.”\n<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\n<\/p>\n Sweeney first revealed that she would portray Martin<\/a> in a movie based on Martin’s life back in May 2024. At the time, she wrote on Instagram<\/a> that she was “honored to tell Christy’s powerful story,” and told Deadline<\/a> in a statement that she was “itching to get back into the ring, train and transform my body” for a new role. “Christy\u2019s story isn\u2019t a light one, it\u2019s physically and emotionally demanding, there\u2019s a lot of weight to carry,” she said at the time. “But I love challenging myself.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n