Although most people would probably hope that the intimate three-way scenes they shot in a film never come up in conversation, Zendaya is more than happy to be transparent about her experience on set.
The actress, who is celebrating her 28th birthday this Sunday (1 September), didn’t hold back when she was asked to dish the dirt on what getting up close and personal with her co-stars in Challengers was like.
Which all adds up, considering she’s a brutally honest Virgo.
Zendaya wasn’t even phased when her entire family were left squirming in their seats while watching the saucy scenes at the premiere for the sports film back in April, so an interviewer asking her about them is like water off a duck’s back for her.
For those who don’t know, she played tennis prodigy Tashi in Challengers, who ends ends up embroiled in a love triangle with fellow players Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick (Josh O’Connor)…who are also best mates.
Tashi ends up marrying Art, only for her promising career to get cut short due to an injury – so she ends up coaching her hubby to become one of the best tennis players in the world instead.
After he falls into a losing streak, she enters him into a low level tournament to boost his confidence, but he finds himself across from his now former best friend Patrick, who is also Tashi’s ex-boyfriend.
Absolute chaos on the courts, really – and if you fancy a refresher, you can have a look at the trailer here:
But basically, amid all this sexual tension, romantic rivalry and tennis, there’s a hint of a ménage à trois too – although Zendaya, Faist and O’Connor stopped short of going the whole hog, much to the disappointment of a lot of fans.
Although Tashi may have left the tennis players wanting more, the actress playing her reckons that her abrupt exit during the steamy snogging session was a perfect addition to the plot line.
And as for how she feels about locking lips with her two co-stars, well…she said she ‘loved’ it.
So you can understand why fans of the couple couldn’t stop thinking about her other half Tom Holland might feel about the very cosy moment when the trailer dropped.
But don’t worry, as she insists she just sees it as part of her job.
Speaking to the Mirror ahead of Challengers release, Zendaya said of the three-way scene: “Tashi is extremely driven. “She’s a go-getter and she is totally ruthless.
“The intimate scenes were so good – I loved it. I felt very lucky to be partnered with those guys.”
The California-born star continued: “And whatever the moment, it always felt like they always had my back and I had theirs.
“We were so lucky to have a director in Luca Guadagnino who really encouraged us all to collaborate and to bring our own ideas. It was a really exciting creative process.”
Zendaya went on to reveal that she found preparing to play a top tennis star was a lot more difficult than psyching herself up to shoot the intimate scenes with Faist and O’Connor, as she explained she does not ‘love to work out’.
She added: “Thankfully, I had an amazing group of people who helped and I learned a lot about air tennis especially and how to look like I know what I’m doing.
“We trained for something like six weeks, which was pretty tough.
“Hopefully, we did a good job and people won’t be too upset. But I’m not about to give up the day job, that’s for sure!
“Playing tennis was definitely the most challenging part of making Challengers.