Zendaya And The Challengers Cast Get Brutally Honest About That Steamy Kissing Scene

Summary

• Zendaya, Faist, and O'Connor discussed the steamy scene in Challengers, revealing insights on how they prepared and felt during the filming process.
• The intimate scene in Challengers was not initially part of the script.
• Zendaya, Faist, and O'Connor bonded before filming the scene, highlighting the importance of feeling comfortable and safe while shooting intimate scenes.

Even though Zendaya is still young in her career, she is incredibly accomplished already. On top of appearing in a forgotten music video, Zendaya has headlined many blockbuster movies, which is why she can demand huge salaries for her roles.

While it is amazing to see how rich Zendaya has become, many of her fans are equally fascinated by her relationship with Tom Holland. Since fans care about the couple, some observers were shocked that Zendaya had a steamy scene in her movie Challengers. Since then, Zendaya and her costars, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor, have spoken out about the intimate scene.

This article will reveal what Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor said about their three-way steamy scene. Then the article will look at the fact that the intimate scene was added late.

Zendaya, Mike Faist, And Josh O'Connor Explained Challengers' Steamiest Scene

When the trailer for Zendaya's movie Challengers dropped, the internet went wild with speculation. The reason for that is that the trailer included a hint of an intimate scene that involved Zendaya and two of her co-stars, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor.

Since that trailer was released, the three actors have talked extensively about the movie. Most notably, Zendaya, O'Connor, and Faist have commented on their intimate scene that got so many people talking. One example of that is when Zendaya told The Hollywood Reporter about the person who helped the intimate scene feel comfortable to shoot.

“We had an intimacy coordinator which was fantastic and very helpful, because it was important that we felt safe.”

While the intimacy coordinator helped Zendaya and her male co-stars feel safe, there was a lot more to the process than that.

When were Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor born, according to Famous Birthdays?

According to what Zendaya also told The Hollywood Reporter, her relationship with Faist and O'Connor played a key role in filming that scene. As Zendaya explained, the three actors spent many hours getting to know each other before their intimate scene was filmed.

“I spoke with my colleagues so that we could find a way to feel at ease. We played tennis together, we went out together, we rehearsed together. We got to bond and feel good with each other.”

In March 2024, Josh O'Connor spoke to Vanity Fair about what it was like to film Challengers' intimate scene. During that interview, O'Connor explained the movie's director, Luca Guadagnino, had a vision for the scene. However, O'Connor says the director let him and his co-stars perform naturally as they filmed the intimate scene.

“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."

"O'Connor continued, "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.”

In April 2024, Zendaya, Faist, O'Connor, and Challengers director Luca Guadagnino spoke to The New York Times together. During the resulting conversation, Faist revealed two fascinating facts about the intimate scene in one quote.

First off, Faist revealed they rehearsed the intimate scene which takes place in a hotel. Secondly, he revealed that rehearsing the intimate scene made him nervous. " I remember when we were rehearsing that hotel scene, running through the lines, there was this moment that I was anxious and nervous and I started picking at my finger."

Stars who've felt uncomfortable filming intimate and kissing scenes, according to The List

• Kate Winslet (Titanic)
• Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies)
• Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones)
• Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey)
• Marie Schneider (Tango in Paris)
• Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey)
• Jennifer Lawrence (Passengers)
• Jessica Brown Findlay (Albatross)
• Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City)
• Kristen Stewart (Twilight)
• Blake Lively (The Town)
• Justin Timberlake (Friends with Benefits)

During another April 2024 interview about Challengers with The Sun, Zendaya spoke about how she can be shy as a person. With that in mind, it makes sense that Zendaya spoke about how lucky she felt to be working with Faist and O'Connor on Challengers.

"Well, I think I got lucky that they're both just lovely guys. They were kind and generous with their work and their time, so that made it easy."

Challengers' Intimate Scene Wasn't Part Of The Original Script

As this article previously touched on, The New York Times interviewed Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O'Connor, and Luca Guadagnino together. During the resulting conversation, the three actors and Challengers' director revealed many fascinating facts about the film.

Arguably the most interesting thing to come from The New York Times' resulting article was about Challengers' original script. Since The New York Times' reporter Kyle Buchanan read the original script for Challengers, he was able to reveal something amazing.

While talking about the film's original scripts, Buchanan stated that he didn't recall there being an intimate scene. In response, Challengers' director, Guadagnino, confirmed that Challengers originally wasn't going to have an intimate scene.

It is important to note that none of Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor have hinted they were upset the intimate scene was added. Furthermore, Zendaya didn't just star in Challengers, she produced the film too.

During a separate April 2024 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Guadagnino spoke about why they chose to add the intimate scene. Furthermore, Guadagnino confirmed that the decision was made in tandem with Challengers' writer, Justin Kuritzkes.

"We discussed at length with Justin the concept that the triangle needs to flesh out the possibility that all the corners touch — that if you're jealous of someone, you're not jealous of your partner, you're jealous also not to be picked by the rival. You want to be the object of the affection of the rival, so you're jealous of not being part of it as much as you are jealous of your partner being chosen."

The same article from EW quoted Mike Faist stating that the intimate scene was added after he agreed to star in Challengers. "The script did change. The script that I think we all initially read before actually signing on and agreeing to the project is different than once we agreed to do it."