It’s Zendaya‘s world, and we’re all just living in it.
That’s the plot of life as well as the actress’ new film, Challengers, a romantic drama set in the tennis world, co-starring Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, and directed by Luca Guadagnino.
Zendaya stars as Tashi, a tennis prodigy who coaches her husband Art (Faist), a tennis champion on a losing streak, as he is set to face off against his former best friend Patrick (O’Connor), who also happens to be Tashi’s ex-boyfriend.
Zendaya told Good Morning America on Tuesday that the sports knowledge she had going into filming was all thanks to tennis icons Venus and Serena Williams.
“What I knew of tennis before going into this film was really them,” she said. “That was my only understanding of the sport mostly, growing up and seeing their influence in my life and in the world.”
Zendaya said she was “so nervous” for the Williams sisters to see the movie, calling the experience “terrifying” but “an honor.”
Given the love triangle at the center of the story, O’Connor said their characters “are tied” and “have this kind of invisible pull between the three of them.”
“The whole film is really them dealing with the grief of not being together and then trying to find their way back together and they do it in some dubious ways,” he added.
Zendaya is so tight with her co-stars, she confirmed they’ll be joining her at this year’s Met Gala, for which she is a co-chair.
“I haven’t been to the Met for quite a few years now, so I’m coming back. I’m a little nervous,” she said. “These guys, I believe, will be there, so I’ll have my crew with me and we’ll keep each other company. It’s exciting.”
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