1 of 6 | Sydney Sweeney, seen at the Primetime Emmy Awards in September in Los Angeles, stars in “Christy.” File Photo by Chris Chew/UPI | License Photo
The boxing matches in Christy, in theaters Friday, are choreographed to the actual bouts Christy Salters fought. Sydney Sweeney, who plays Christy in the film, says it was important for her and her costars to make contact to do their subject justice.
Speaking at a Q&A following a Los Angeles screening of Christy, Sweeney, who also produced the film, said she did not want the fights to look like other boxing movies.
“Christy’s so powerful, so all of the girls let me hit them and they hit me,” Sweeney said. “There were some bloody noses. I had some concussions. It was the real deal. It was amazing.”
Sweeney, 28, plays Christy from 1989 to 2010. She said she drew on kickboxing lessons she took from ages 12 to 19, but realized boxing required different training.
“The stance is different from kickboxing, the technique is a little different,” Sweeney said, adding that she had to “retrain my brain to box but then also train my brain to fight like Christy.”
Salters was on set watching Sweeney recreate her fights. Joining Sweeney after the screening, Salters said she was reminded of her own actions.
“She did pretty good,” Salters said. “You have to twist the arm on that left hook but I think you stuck your tongue out a couple times. So I’m in the back watching, I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness,’ but I did that.”
Sweeney was gratified when Salters got invested in the fights.
“The best was during some of the fights I’d hear Christy go, ‘Yeah, get her with the left hook,'” Sweeney said. “I’m like, ‘You know what I’m going to do. You didn’t hit her with a left.'”
The script by Mirrah Foulkes and director David Michôd was the first Sweeney had heard of Salters. Salters was one of the first professional female boxers and her win streak helped legitimize the sport.
“I couldn’t believe that I didn’t know who Christy was,” Sweeney said. “I was completely blown away that a woman like you existed out there and you were so inspiring. I knew that I wanted to make sure that this story was told and that people saw this and they learn who you are. You’re going to inspire so many people.”
Salters added, “We are going to.”
Salters now promotes female boxers herself. She expressed gratitude to the actors and filmmakers for handling her story.
“Talk about a crazy ride for a coal miner’s daughter,” Salters said. “They took their time and put their heart into it and learned my true feelings and emotions and what it means to me. That’s what I appreciate.”
The film also covers Christy’s tumultuous relationship with Jim Martin, her former husband and manager. Martin was ultimately arrested for shooting and stabbing Christy in 2010, and was found guilty of attempted murder.
Ben Foster plays Jim in the film and was so accurate, Salters had to keep her distance.
“Does that surprise anybody that I wanted to keep my distance from him?” Salters said. “For me, it was just a little more than I could take.”
Foster was sensitive to the fact that he was playing a traumatic figure from her real life.
“It’s her story and we’re interpreting it,” Foster said. “It’s not going to be 100% but we’re doing our best to honor it.”
Once filming wrapped, Salters sought Foster out. They have remained friends and he has attended her fights and supported her fighters.
“The moment he was done, I came to the back and gave him the biggest hug that I’ve probably ever given anybody,” Salters said. “I love this man. He kicked ass and did a wonderful job portraying Jim Martin.”
Portraying Christy over 22 years and a physically punishing boxing career required nuance on Sweeney’s part too.
“Your body has to move differently or to ache differently,” Sweeney said. “There’s her at 22 with one fight under her belt and then we go to 40 and she has her way of life. So I’m going to move differently, I’m going to feel differently, I’m going to get out of bed differently. So it was just trying to track that growth. My body did start to ache though so I felt it.”
The film chronicles Christy’s perseverance in the ring and her recovery from abuse in her personal life. Salters appreciated the message the filmmakers captured in depicting her life.
“I think that it shows everybody that no matter how many cards are stacked against you, you have to keep fighting and you have to keep that survival mode going because there’s positive at the end of the road,” Salters said. “You just have to keep working to get to the end of the road.”
