‘Challengers’: Mike Faist Had to Eat Up to 10,000 Calories a Day and Gain 30 Pounds to Transform Into a Tennis Star
variety.comJazz Tangcay Artisans Editor In order to deliver authenticity to every ace, volley, serve and rally, the stars of Luca Guadagnino‘s tennis drama “Challengers” each trained for up to six hours a day for three months on the court.
In the film, two former friends and double partners Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) face off in a challengers match years after falling out over their pursuit of Tashi Duncan (Zendaya).
Brad Gilbert, tennis coach to Andy Murray and Coco Gauff, worked extensively with the actors to make sure they could convincingly become sports stars.
Faist had just finished filming Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” when he began training for “Challengers.” “Mike had to eat between 8,000 to 10,000 calories a day because they wanted him to gain weight,” Gilbert tells Variety. “He was coming off ‘West Side Story,’ and he was super thin.
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