Zendaya And Josh O'Connor Explained Why They Humorously Weren't Like Mike Faist When It Came To Training For Challengers

After Zendaya’s return to Arrakis this fall with Dune: Part Two, the award-winning actress is moving to the world of tennis with Challengers. The upcoming 2024 movie centers Zendaya as a player of the sport who gets caught in a love triangle between best friends and fellow players, played by Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, across years, leading to a tension-filled challenger event between the two men. While recalling their time training for the movie, its stars recalled one star who got way more into it then the other two. 

As it turns out, Zendaya and The Crown cast member Josh O’Connor were not as into hitting the gym as their co-star Mike Faist. As the pair reminiscent on filming Challengers in Boston last summer, they said this: 

O’Connor: "I remember those days when the three of us were training together every day. Mike–you know this–so I’m telling this to anyone else who’s listening. But Mike Faist is an absolute machine, he absolutely loves the gym. "
Zendaya: "There’s him, and then there’s us."

While Zendaya interviewed her costar for his cover on V Magazine, O’Connor revealed that among the trio, Mike Faist was most definitely the most into getting fit to portray tennis players. As they continued: 

Josh O’Connor: "Yeah, we were like, ‘Sure, this is fine, but also not that fine.’ The big thing about the physicality stuff is–and I give credit to Luke on this. But it doesn’t matter who you are or how little you may care about how you look, if you’re in really good shape, it does affect your confidence. I just think it was definitely a thing, and I’m so glad we did all that training. And we got to spend time together like we went every single day."
Zendaya: "Yeah, I would say it was our summer camp."

Zendaya shared that their schedule was a lot like camp because they had “PE in the morning, then lunch, then actor’s camp.” Surely, it was a lot of hard work for the actors to get fit and really pull off playing tennis tournament winners in the movie. You can check out the trailer for Challengers below for a taste of what to expect from the movie: 

Challengers was helmed by Luca Guadagnino, who notably made Call Me By Your Name, 2018’s Suspiria remake and last year’s gory romance Bones and All. Knowing the director’s filmography, we’ve come to expect the unexpected when it comes to his work, and it's unlikely the tennis romance will be any different. 

Zendaya is a huge name that we’re excited to see continue to play new roles like this one, but her co-stars are more burgeoning stars in Hollywood. Mike Faist memorably was cast in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story after starring in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway alongside other productions and film roles. O’Connor most notably played Charles, Prince of Wales in Season 3 and 4 of The Crown. 

Challengers was initially going to premiere at the Venice Film Festival next week before hitting theaters this September, but the movie was delayed amidst the SAG actors strike to April 26, 2024 to allow its stars to promote it. We’re excited to see Mike Faist show up Zendaya and O’Connor with his commitment to fitness in the upcoming release!