Sydney Sweeney says stepping into a boxing ring changed her life, but she had to do it away from Hollywood.
The 28-year-old actress explained why she avoided Los Angeles while training for her role as real-life boxing icon Christy Salters Martin in the 2025 film. Christie.
For Sweeney, it was a chance to fade away, focus and shed the glamorous image that many fans believe defines her.
“The perception is that the media version of who you are is who you really are,” she explained in a new statement. Sports Illustrated interview published on December 9.
Sweeney shared that she was deeply connected to Salters Martin, who spent years fighting both in the ring and in his personal life, while hiding the trauma of an abusive relationship from the world.
The actress has faced constant scrutiny over her appearance since she rose to fame.
This pressure made it even more important for her to train in private.
“I knew that if I continued to train in Los Angeles or wherever, people would start taking pictures of me,” she said.
Instead, she returned home to Idaho, where she trained in a boxing gym built in her grandmother’s shed.
“I wanted to go home. I could disappear, not worry about the outside world and fully immerse myself in it.”
Sweeney gained 30 pounds on creatine, protein shakes and Uncrustables to authentically represent the fighter.
She learned kickboxing and MMA moves and did most of her fight scenes herself.
“I really wanted to fight,” she said, adding that she fell in love with the sport and even considered stepping away from acting to train directly with Salters Martin.
She laughed when mentioning the idea, but admitted that boxing made her feel powerful.
“It feels like a superpower,” she added, describing the thrill of never knowing what’s next in the ring.
While Christy only earned $1.3 million during its opening weekend in November, Sweeney believes what matters is its impact.
The film explores Salters Martin’s near escape when her ex-husband and trainer, Jim Martin, shot her in 2010 and left her for dead. She survived and then committed herself to helping others tell their stories.
