We haven't been short of blockbuster movies in 2025, but very few of them have attracted such attention as the new Christy Martin biopic, Christy, starring Sydney Sweeney.
The film charts the extraordinary rise of Christy Martin — the 1990s fighter who became America’s most famous female boxer — and the harrowing moment in 2010 when her coach-turned-husband tried to kill her.
Whilst the film has had a hard time at the US box office, with Sweeney called out as a casting misstep by Ruby Rose (the previous top pick for the role), the flick was one of our film-favourites from this year, despite some of its backlash.
Sharply written, beautifully filmed, and heartbreakingly brilliantly acted, Christy is not getting the recognition it deserves, and it should be on your must-watch list as it hits UK screens this week.
Ahead of the film's UK release on 28th November, we caught up with Sydney Sweeney, David Michôd, and Mirrah Foulkes - the powerhouses behind and stars of the new biopic, Christy.
Speaking to Shortlist, the stars and crew shared some enlightening behind the scenes details from the film, from stealing cars to the joy of boxer shorts…
1. Sydney Sweeney kept Christy's iconic pink BMW
Don’t worry, it wasn’t Christy Martin’s actual car - if there’s one person you don’t want to nick something off, it’s a professional boxer. No, we’re talking about the film's onscreen BMW, which was an exact replica of the nifty, Barbie Pink BMW gifted to Christy in the height of her fame.
“I have a thing for cars,” Sweeney laughed, “I love cars!”
But it wasn't the only item Sweeney swiped from the set.
“I kept most of Christy’s boxing shorts, and got those framed,” Sweeney revealed, and hearing her talk about the influence Martin and the film had on her, we’re not surprised she wanted a memento from the whole experience.
2. Their secret weapon was the real Christy
One thing that’s pretty unanimous amongst the three was their reliance on Christy in getting the whole biopic right. Her story is one of the most powerful in the sporting world, and now Hollywood too, tracking her rise, her fight, and the prejudice and abuse she was subjected to.
For Mirrah Foulkes, the powerhouse screenwriter who brought Christy’s story to life, it was all about keeping the star at the centre.
“I’d never written a biopic before,” Foulkes revealed, “I’d never been working so closely with someone whose life I was writing about. So making sure we were accurately and authentically depicting her life was what drove us the whole way through.
"The film is very, very true to life - we didn’t take liberties at all.”
It was a support that carried through the whole film for Sweeney.
“I don’t know if I could pinpoint one particular scene or a moment,” Sweeney reflected. “I think just having Christy there always reminded me of the importance of the film.”
Similarly, director David Michod echoed Sweeney’s sentiment, saying: “It’s about a crazy, wild, and varied life - the little West Virginian muppet at the beginning turns into this powerhouse. In a way, the way the movie shifts and transforms - that’s power.”
3. The young onscreen Christy loves the freedom of her first home, but the off-screen team are divided
There’s a sweet scene near the beginning of the film where young Christy is given the keys to her first place - a tiny, rickety old motorhome on the side of a racetrack. Instead of the abject horror most of us might feel staring down the face of a Caravan-esque habitat with a decor not updated since the 50s, Christy is thrilled. Whilst not all of us can relate to being a pro boxer, everyone can relate to that feeling of being in the first place that feels all yours.
“I’ve always had my own places, but I’ve never lived by myself. This is my first year actually living on my own,” Sweeney revealed. “I have a really hard time living on my own,” she laughed. “Just being brutally honest!”
On the contrary, Michôd is a lover of first-home freedom, remembering his first place in Melbourne fondly. “It was a dump,” Michôd laughed, recollecting, “but I loved it.”
“I love living by myself,” Michôd smiled, as Sweeney shook her head in disagreement. “I’m trying to get better at it,” Sweeney laughed.
4. The biggest challenge was capturing the timescale of Christy's story
There are numerous challenges directors and writers face when producing a biopic - the public reception being a key one, keeping the story authentic whilst also condensing it into a two-hour feature film, and casting. When it came to writing and creating, it was a new challenge which kept Foulkes on her toes.
“The most difficult thing was the fact that the film takes place over a long period of time, and we felt that it had to because it was very important to include young Christy, and also end where we ended. So, holding that period of time whilst staying as true to the timeline as possible. That was a challenge.”
5. Christy’s experience is just one of hundreds of women who in the scrutiny of the public eye
In the past decade, we’ve had roughly eleven (brilliant) biopics about male celebrities - Rocketman, Elvis, A Complete Unknown, Bohemian Rhapsody, Stardust, Sully, Eddie the Eagle - whilst during the same period, we’ve had far fewer high-profile flicks centred around female celebs — I, Tonya, Judy, Maria being the most reverred. It’s another example of the digestible equality in modern culture - it seems like things are equal, but when you break it down, it’s, well, not quite there.
Christy is another brilliant example of this, highlighting the dichotomy between a woman breaking numerous boundaries for women, marking a new era for women, whilst simultaneously still being subjected to serious prejudice and inequality. For Foulkes, this difference between the public and private perception of Christy was key to creating the biopic:
“It’s one of the things that I’m most interested in, these masks we put on in order to survive, or to stride in the world. There’s such an interesting parallel that exists for Christy in the sports world with young actresses in Hollywood. We all do it every day, in every industry for sure, but I wonder if Sydney especially was able to tap into this - young women putting on these masks and presenting to the world in a certain way.
“It’s such rich territory on screen, especially when you get to see those moments where the masks drop and see behind that kind of facade. I love it about this film, the insights you get about Christy when she’s not showing that public face.”
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