CHALLENGERS Press Conference: The Cast Deep Dives into their Infectious Chemistry

The highly talked about Challengers hits theaters this week and the cast recently sat down with Kelley Carter for a press conference in LA. Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’ Connor, Amy Pascal, Justin Enkuritzand, and Luca Guadagnino were at hand to talk about a variety of aspects of the tennis themed film.

Check out some of the highlights from the press conference below:

Amy Pascal on what drew her to the script:

Well, Rachel and I… we’ve been working together for the last 20 years. And Justin’s agent, you know, Sue, sent it to Rachel, and she loved it. And Rachel sent it to me, and I loved it. And then we begged Justin to be the producers of it. And we had quite a bit of competition. But I think what really locked it, and I don’t think Z knows this, but I’ll say it now, we promised we’d get her to do it. I said, “You know, I know there’s a lot of other producers, but I know Z personally. And I will get her to do this movie.” And that is why Justin chose us, I’m certain.

Josh O’ Connor on what song kept him grounded during filming:

I have a play list on Spotify which is called Boston Marathon. I didn’t do the Boston Marathon. But I started it because Mike and I went to watch the Boston Marathon while we were shooting Challengers, and inspired me. And then a year later, I did do the London Marathon. And so I started this playlist, which I think in my head now is my London Marathon playlist. But I think must have stemmed from making Challengers. The sort of follow-up question to that is name a song on it, and I can’t.

Zendaya on her comments at the LA premiere when she asked the audience not to judge Tashi [Duncan] too harshly.

Well, I think, you know, I think the response might be just, like, the refreshing nature that it’s a female character that doesn’t have to be likeable and doesn’t care about you liking her. And doesn’t ask for forgiveness. And I think that that is probably refreshing, maybe, to some people. And I understand that. And that was refreshing to me when I read her. And that was why I wanted to play her, you know. But I think, you know, honestly, I say that before screening sometimes because I feel like it’s our natural instinct to judge people in general. 

So it’s easy to judge these characters. And I understand that. Because we all do. And I think the beauty of this film is that your mind will change. ‘Cause I know mine has. Every time I watch it. Every time I read it. I mean, honestly, I had preconceived notions about the characters, and then these guys came in, and with their performances alone, you know, changed my perception of 

these characters. What they brought to them, how they, you know, embodied them, the life they gave them. So I think it’s one of those things that, you know, it’s everchanging how I feel, or my perception of the characters is everchanging. 

Mike Faist on how the project came to him:

I was home in Ohio, and I think like Z, it’s really hard for me, for my team, to get me to read anything… and my agent actually called me. Sam. She gave me a call and she said, “Mike, you have to read this script.” And I was like, “All right, well, that sounds serious.” So I read it. And you know in those moments when you’re like, “Fuck, I hate when other people are right.” Yes. And so then, from there, I met with Luca. Luca and I, you were in Italy. I was in Ohio. We Zoomed. We met each other. We chatted. And then they flew me to London to meet with Z. And we did a screen test there. And I remember I left the screen test, and I was walking around London, and I actually felt like it went atrociously wrong. And I thought, “Okay, well, I did not book that at all.” And then Luca gave me a call, and he said, “Mike, where are you? Come back, have lunch with me.” I guess we sat down and had lunch. And he just was, you know, we just chatted some more and got to know each other.

Challengers hits theaters April 26th.