Sydney Sweeney built a gym for Christy

Sydney Sweeney built a gym in her house just to prepare for Christy.

The 28-year-old actress plays boxer Christy Martin in the movie and she was “excited” to totally transform herself for the role.

She told Britain’s OK! magazine: “I was excited to do it.

“I wanted desperately to do Christy justice and to make her proud.

“I really love to play characters that I can disappear into and just totally transform.

“I threw myself into every aspect of this character.

“I built a gym in my house. I had a professional boxing trainer, a weight trainer and a nutritionist. I was working hard every day to get where I needed to be physically.”

The Euphoria star gained 35lbs for the role and admitted she often felt “so sick” as a result of her attempts to put on the pounds.

She said: “It was really just part of the process.

“It was building muscle, lots of protein shakes and filling up with calories.

“It was a lot. I felt so sick all the time.

“I mean, it’s a lot harder to lose than it was to put it on, that’s for sure.

“But even with the high calorie intake and the eating, as soon as I started boxing the weight would drop off.

“Afterwards, it was just a matter of redressing that balance.”

It wasn’t just the physical scenes that were challenging for Sydney.

She said: “The physical stuff was fun. I could train and feel prepared.

“But then some days it was about going from that to a big emotional scene. It was a different challenge.

“We were so lucky to have Christy there with us.

“I was able to talk to her a lot and figure out what her mindset was in those moments.

“It was all about feeling the moment, working with the script and just going for it.

“That’s the way I like to work.”

Sydney hailed making the film a “life-changing” experience.

Asked what she had taken away from playing Christy, she said: “So much. This has been a life-changing experience for me in such a positive way.

“Playing Christy and getting to know her has taught me how to stand up for myself and what I need to do to feel stronger in my work life, as well as my personal life.

“It’s made me feel ready to stand up for the people in my life and to always be there for them.

“It’s also made me remember just how much I love boxing.”