Zendaya: ‘It’s refreshing to play a female character who doesn’t need to be nice and doesn’t apologize’ | Culture

At a time when Hollywood relies on cardboard heroes to survive, Zendaya is a star and the film Rivals, about a love triangle in the world of tennis, is ready to dispel any remaining doubts about it. The 28-year-old actress capitalized on her career as a child and teenager on the Disney Channel with a trilogy of superheroes (the Spider-Man films), two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for her role in the edgy HBO series, Euphoriaand 184 million Instagram followers who cheer her on, whether she makes a surprise appearance on the Coachella stage or posts a rare selfie.

She even has her own love story in the movies. After a lot of discretion with the paparazzi, she publicly admitted to being a couple with Spider-Man himself, the British actor (and, if we judge by the likes on the networks, # 1 fan of hers), Tom Holland. Her impeccable red carpet style has found many imitators, the most notable being Margot Robbie on the film’s press tour. Barbie last year.

Zendaya and her stylist, LawRoachwho she has worked with since she was 14, have perfected so-called “method dressing” (as opposed to “method acting”) in recent years, with the rising star donning designer creations inspired by each film’s theme, starting in 2017 with the famous butterfly dress at the premiere of The Greatest Showman, up to the series Dune: Part Two this year (with emphasis on the Mugler metallic bodysuit) and ending with the tennis skirt dress from the film Rivals.

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In the latter, the costumes are designed by Jonathan Andersonfrom the house of Loewe, and some looks have already gone viral even before being shown in cinemas.

From Los Angeles, the last stop on the film’s promotional tour that took her, among other places, to Rome, London and Sydney, Zendaya describes Rivals as something completely indefinable and therefore incredibly attractive to her.

“I couldn’t determine what kind of film it was,” he declared days before the film’s release in theaters.

“It’s funny, but it’s not a comedy. It has drama, but I wouldn’t say it’s purely dramatic. And it has tennis, but it’s not a sports movie. It’s a lot of things at once in a very beautiful way, and that intimidated me, but it also It moved me.”

In addition to being the protagonist, Zendaya also plays the role of producer in Rivals.

“I loved the script, I thought it was wonderful”, he says about his first encounter with the material, while he was still filming Euphoria. “But at the same time it made me anxious about how I was going to handle it, because the characters are so complex.”

Professional tennis is just the backdrop for Rivalswhich follows Tasi Duncan, a great tennis player, and her relationship with her husband (Mike Feist) and her ex (Josh O’Connor), who meet again as rivals in a tournament. Tasi, who was forced to abandon her sports career due to injury, got married, became a mother and coached her husband in tennis.

“I felt like I had never read or seen a character like Tasi before,” says Zendaya. “This intrigued me to the point that I thought I should do [este filme], to be part of this in a creative way and serve the character and our fantastic team. I wanted to help bring that to life in the best way I could.”

Determined to see her husband win, Tassi signs him up for a tournament, but then discovers that a love from her past (who is also her husband’s ex-best friend) is participating in the same event and is equally hungry for victory. The drama that follows is modern, fun and sexy, a balance guaranteed by the direction of Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, Bones and All).

The Italian director had been on Zendaya’s list of ideal future collaborators since she met him at a Fendi dinner and won her over with his kindness. “He was very sweet to me,” recalls the actress. “He helped me find vegetarian options on the menu because I didn’t speak Italian. I loved him back then and looked forward to working with him.”

Their next meeting was via Zoom. “I could tell he understood what kind of movie we wanted to make,” says Zendaya enthusiastically. “He knew little details about the characters, we were joking about what lotion Tasi would put on her hands before bed. He had the same instinct for the other characters, so it was a definite ‘yes’ for me.”

Zendaya shares intense (but not romantic, as she is often quick to clarify) scenes with her two co-stars, often simultaneously, and the film’s success depended on their chemistry. Unlike other productions, in this one a lot of time was dedicated to building the relationship between the actors. “We had the privilege of spending a lot of time in rehearsals, working on the script and getting to know each other better,” she comments.

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However, the real challenge was not the many intimate interactions between the three athletes, but the tennis itself. Zendaya, who is the first to admit that she is not the most skilled tennis player nor knowledgeable about the sport (“she didn’t know anything about tennis, she only knew Serena It is Venus Williams“), there are many funny stories from training and filming, which she compares to a camp.

“In trying to become a tennis player and learn the basics, I almost went crazy,” she says with a laugh.

“At first, I was sending the ball into the trees, I couldn’t even hit it on the court. I quickly realized I had a long way to go. Unless you start at age 4, for example, tennis is not an easy sport to learn One day you think you can do it and the next day you can’t. One day, I decided to return a real loot. At that time, I hadn’t had laser correction surgery on my eyes yet, I was wearing glasses. I didn’t even see it. It was then that I realized I needed to change my technique.”

With Guadagnino’s help, she was finally able to find a correct and convincing way to play tennis.

“I approached it like choreography,” he continues.

“I had a stunt double, a wonderful player, and I wanted to synchronize with her, understand her movements and habits so that the result was as continuous as possible. I wanted to be her reflection. I would record these training sessions on video and then watch them again. That’s how I learned to look like a tennis player. I realized I couldn’t become a tennis player, but I could pretend to be one.”

Your efforts seem to have paid off, as Rivals received some of the best reviews of the actress’s entire career. The tough, cunning and selfish Tassi couldn’t be further from the public image and personal reputation of the shy Zendaya, who makes this role her biggest challenge yet.

“It’s refreshing to play a female character who doesn’t and shouldn’t be nice, who doesn’t apologize,” she tells us.

“When I read the script, that was the reason I wanted to play her. I say this before every screening because I believe we instinctively tend to judge people. It’s easy to criticize these characters, I understand. We all do it. The beauty of movie is that it makes you change your mind. At least that’s what happens to me every time I watch it. [Mike e Josh] They changed my opinion with the way they interpreted them.”

“My opinion about characters is always changing, I learn something new about them all the time. And it will happen to you too.”

*This report was originally published in Marie Claire Greece