Josh O’Connor on the ‘Challengers’ Threesome: “I was up in a flash and not holding back.”

We have written about Luca Guadagnino upcoming sports drama Challengers, which is going to star Zendaya in a love triangle with her current and former lover. Although tennis seems to be the main focus of the movie, the sexual tensions between the characters will be equally important, as it is common in all of Guadagnino’s movies.

As you probably know, some recent trailers showed more scenes from the movie, most of them highlighting how Zendaya’s character is toying with the two male protagonists. The trailer also foreshadowed a threesome scene, which will include some homosexual moments between actors Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.

It is O’Connor, who will also play in Guadagnino’s next project, the queer romance Separate Rooms, who spoke to IndieWire about the steamy scene and he revealed that it was all quite natural and quite enjoyable. This is what he had to say:

“Luca had a very clear idea of what happens on the bed. The idea of me and Mike, with Zendaya in the middle — this idea that it’s kissing, kissing, and then it turns into this three-way kiss — and then suddenly Mike and I are kissing. That was very clear. We all kind of figured out, how are we going to do this? How does this work?

There is an element of improvisation with it. It was fairly organic. We did little things, like, when they’re sitting on the floor and she goes onto the bed, I was up in a flash and not holding back. That came from us knowing our characters well, and knowing the dynamics between the three of us.”

As you can see, Guadagnino had a very clear idea of what he wanted to do with the role, but he also encouraged O’Connor to give it his all and not hold back, as the actor said:

“The truth is, Luca had to take me aside after about two weeks and was like, ‘Josh, you can’t hide. You have to be all out.’ ‘I’m not brilliant at that. I like to be in the corner, hiding away a little bit. One thing that I definitely think helps with that: I’d never spent time in a gym in my life. When I went over to Boston to do this film, Luca was like, ‘We’re in the gym.’ We did three or four weeks of: two hours in the morning, tennis; two hours gym; rehearsal every day. I was forced into going to the gym. There was no option.

Mike and I would be doing laps of the tennis court or doing push-ups or burpees and just properly sweating. Put two actors on basically what is a stage, where there’s sweating and you’re feeling boisterous, and it’s like, if you plant two male actors in that scenario, you’re going to have a bit of swagger. That really helped. It’s not a space I’m necessarily natural with, but I loved it. It felt good.”

Challengers is coming out in theaters on April 26, 2024. Until then, be sure to keep following us for more updates on the movie.

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