Zendaya has revealed the details behind her Challengers three-way kiss with her co-stars Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.
The vibrant film starred Zendaya as Tashi, a former tennis star who had to leave the profession after suffering an injury early in her career.
Mike plays her husband Art, who she turns into a tennis star, while Josh plays her ex-boyfriend Patrick, another tennis player.
When Art and Patrick play against each other on the ATP Challenger Tour, a thrilling love triangle ensues between them and Tashi.
Challengers became a social media sensation because of the electric sexual chemistry between its leads – especially a kiss scene involving all three.
Now, in an Actors On Actors interview with Nicole Kidman, Zendaya has lifted the curtain on the process of filming the scene, via Variety.
Zendaya (center) revealed the details behind her triple kiss on Challengers with her co-stars Josh O’Connor (left) and Mike Faist (right)
The topic came up when the actresses were talking about the difference between acting out a scene spontaneously or acting according to a predetermined plan.
“You can tell with your hand if someone is thinking about what they’re going to say or what they’re going to do,” Zendaya said.
‘I’ve caught myself doing that when you dissociate halfway through the recording. Or you start thinking: “Why did I just do that with my eye? That was a really strange choice,” she said.
She said she’s been ‘asked a lot about the triple kiss scene’ in Challengers – and revealed how she reacts.
Zendaya tells questioners, “Really, it’s a four-, five-, six-, seven-, eight-, nine-way kiss,” because there are so many people there. There’s going to be a camera coming at us at some point.”
She spilled, “I know if I go from Mike to Josh, when the camera comes in, I have to go back. There are so many things going on.’
As for her real love life, Zendaya is still in the throes of her long-term romance with fellow international superstar Tom Holland.
Zendaya and Tom have been the subject of dating rumors since they wrapped Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017, their first film together.
The buzzy film starred Zendaya as Tashi, a former tennis star who had to leave the profession after suffering an injury early in her career.
Mike (left) plays her husband Art, whom she turns into a tennis star, while Josh plays her ex-boyfriend Patrick, another tennis player
When Art and Patrick play against each other on the ATP Challenger Tour, a thrilling love triangle ensues between them and Tashi.
Now, Zendaya has lifted the curtain on the process of filming the scene in an Actors On Actors interview with Nicole Kidman, via Variety
However, she repeatedly denied they were an item for years before confirming they were in a romantic relationship in 2021.
“He’s literally one of my best friends,” Zendaya said during a 2017 interview shortly after the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
‘In recent months we have had to go on press trips together. “There are very few people who at the age of 20 will understand what that’s like,” she said Variety.
Both Zendaya and Tom reportedly dated other people in the years between when the rumors started and when the romance was confirmed.
Zendaya was linked to her Euphoria co-star Jacob Elordi in 2019, while Tom reportedly went into COVID-19 lockdown with English actress Nadia Parkes in 2020.
However, in July 2021, Tom and Zendaya went public as a couple when they were spotted kissing in a car after visiting her mother.
Since then, the pair have not shy away from being seen together, but have been reluctant to discuss the details of their relationship in public.
Tom shed some light on their lipstick attitude last year when he appeared on a podcast by self-help guru Jay Shetty.
“You can tell with your hand if someone is thinking about what they’re going to say or what they’re going to do,” Zendaya said
‘My relationship is what I hold most sacred. “I don’t talk about it,” he said. “I’m doing my best to keep it as private as possible.”
He explained, “We both feel like this is the healthiest way to move forward as a couple, so I’m trying to stay as far away from Hollywood as possible.”
“Our relationship is something that we are incredibly protective of and want to keep as sacred as possible,” he shared The Hollywood Reporter the same year.
“We don’t think we owe this to anyone, it’s our thing and it has nothing to do with our careers,” The Crowded Room actor added.