Zendaya Opens Up About Family’s Reaction to Intimate Scenes in Latest Film

You may know Josh O’Connor as the regal, Emmy-winning Prince Charles from “The Crown,” but get ready to see a completely different side of the British actor. In the buzzworthy new film “Challengers,” O’Connor strips away the royal decorum to play Patrick, a tennis pro engaged in a red-hot love triangle with co-stars Zendaya and Mike Faist.

As Tashi, a former tennis prodigy-turned-coach married to Faist’s character Art, Zendaya heats up the screen with both of her male co-stars. The film has been earning plenty of attention for its steamy love scenes, including an intimately choreographed threesome sequence.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, O’Connor admitted he was surprised to even land such a racy role. “If you were making the movie, you wouldn’t cast me,” he told the screenwriter. “You would cast anyone but me.”

But it was Zendaya herself who advocated for O’Connor after being wowed by his intense performance in “The Crown.” “Literally, that was the first person I thought of,” the “Euphoria” star explained. “After meeting him, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, you’re nothing like this person.'”

While the love scenes look undeniably steamy on screen, the actors insist the reality was a bit more awkward. O’Connor described the threesome kiss as “enough to keep you on the edge of your seat” for viewers, but on set “we laughed” through the choreography.

“It’s not just the three of us. It’s a whole crew also who’s a part of the scenes,” Zendaya told Entertainment Tonight, calling it more of a “dance” than a romantic moment.

The 26-year-old actor even revealed her family got a bit flustered watching the film’s raunchier moments at a screening. “It was funny ’cause, you know, obviously I’ve seen the movie many times, so I know what’s coming, and they were all sitting behind me, and I got to, like, watch them watch and slowly just be like, ‘Oh god,'” she said with a laugh.

Of course, Zendaya’s fans have seen her in similarly racy scenes before on the HBO hit “Euphoria,” for which she’s won two Emmys. “They’ve all seen ‘Euphoria,’ you know, so it’s not like our first rodeo or anything,” she reasoned.

Beyond the buzzworthy bedroom scenes, Zendaya valued the opportunity to play a more mature, nuanced character she could relate to. “I’ve been playing 16-year-olds since I was 16,” she told Variety. “So, it was nice to play a character that was not a child anymore.”

With a raw, honest performance and undeniable chemistry with her co-stars, Zendaya continues showing her remarkable range as both an actor and producer in “Challengers.” The film is sure to get pulses racing and have audiences talking.

Source: nypost

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