The Classic 70s Sports Dynasty That Has Sydney Sweeney’s Heart
Sydney Sweeney goes the distance for Rocky, crowning the 70s classic her ultimate sports saga, while she and Ethan Hawke trade sports talk — including a surprising boxing story from Hawke.
File this under not-shocking-but-still-fun: Sydney Sweeney just named her favorite sports movie, and yes, it is the '70s-born juggernaut you are probably thinking of.
Sydney Sweeney picks Rocky
'I have always loved the Rocky franchise.'
That was Sweeney, 28, during a chat with Ethan Hawke for Variety. The two ended up talking sports because Sweeney has been deep in boxing for 'Christy' — the Christy Martin biopic she led. Even though 'Christy' did not land at the box office, fans kept buzzing about her full-on transformation into the legendary fighter. It is a real left turn from the roles she usually gets tossed.
Why Hawke immediately got nostalgic (and bruised)
Hawke, 55, lit up at the Rocky mention and told a very Ethan Hawke story: he saw Rocky, decided to try boxing, trained, took one fight, and promptly realized he hated getting punched. He said he thought his defense was decent until his opponent pounded his guard so hard his own gloves started smacking him in the face. One and done. Losing, as it turns out, did not agree with him.
When Sweeney (yep, the 'Euphoria' and 'Anyone But You' star) asked how long he trained, Hawke said six months. He also gave Sweeney props for being better than him in the ring. Her response: she got a concussion along the way. Occupational hazard when your day job suddenly involves getting hit.
The craft talk underneath the bruises
The boxing detour came while Hawke was talking about playing real people. He has been on a roll there — he recently took on lyricist Lorenz Hart in Richard Linklater's 'Blue Moon' and previously played Chet Baker in 'Born to Be Blue.' While describing the trumpet lessons he took for that gig, he boiled the whole actor-prep thing down to a simple idea: it is less about technical perfection and more about whether you can sell the belief.
What is next
Sweeney will be back on screens soon in 'The Housemaid,' co-starring Amanda Seyfried. Hawke, meanwhile, keeps stacking those real-life roles — and, mercifully, not stepping back into a boxing ring.