Sydney Sweeney is revealing the details of her “crazy” body transformation to play professional boxer Christy Martin.
During a Monday profile with W Magazine, the Euphoria actress opened up about the rigorous training schedule she endured to portray the boxer. Sweeney went through three and a half months of training, which resulted in her gaining over 30 pounds for the role.
“I came onboard to play Christy, and I had about three and a half months of training,” she said. “I started eating. I weight-trained in the morning for an hour, kickboxed midday for about two hours, and then weight-trained again at night for an hour.”
Sweeney admitted that “my body was completely different” because of all the training, which led to her not being able to “fit in any of my clothes.”
“I’m usually a size 23 in jeans, and I was wearing a size 27,” Sweeney recounted. “My boobs got bigger. And my butt got huge. It was crazy! I was like, ‘Oh my God.’”
Still, the Emmy nominee didn’t mind the shift in physical appearance. “It was amazing: I was so strong, like crazy strong,” she added.
Sweeney confirmed she was starring in the forthcoming Martin biopic in October of last year “thanks to some paps in bushes,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. When announcing the news, she shared a photo of herself as Martin, sporting brown curly hair and toned arms.
Martin is regarded as one of the most prolific female boxers of all time, beginning her career in 1989 before she retired in 2012. She won the WBC female super welterweight world champion title in 2009 and is the only female boxer to cover Sports Illustrated.
Martin nearly died in 2010 when her husband, Jim Martin, stabbed her and shot her in the chest. After surviving the murder attempt, Jim was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
“Over the past few months, I’ve been immersed in training to bring to life the story of an incredible woman — a true champion who fought battles both inside and outside the ring,” Sweeney wrote. “Her journey is a testament to resilience, strength, and hope, and I’m honored to step into her shoes to share her powerful story with you all. More to come soon.”
