Kyrgios surprise inspiration for Hollywood film: ‘I love him’

The stars of new Hollywood romantic sport flick, Challengers, are in Sydney. One of them has revealed Aussie tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios inspired their part in the film.

It was Australia’s own Nick Kyrgios that inspired British actor Joshua O’Connor in his latest Hollywood film.

O’Connor, who played a younger Prince Charles in hit TV series The Crown, plays tennis ace Patrick in the Luca Guadagnino directed Challengers.

“I love him, he is amazing,” O’Connor said of Kyrgios. “First of all, he is an astonishingly good tennis player but I also just love the character and the bravado. He is such a character, great to watch, great entertainment.”

Aussie tennis star Nick Kyrgios. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

Kyrgios is the bad boy of Aussie tennis who announced his shock but long-awaited return to the court this week to compete at the UTS tournament in New York in August.

O’Connor joined superstar actor Zendaya and co-star Mike Faist for the Australian premiere of the romantic sports movie at Sydney’s State Theatre on Tuesday.

Challengers stars Mike Faist, Zendaya and Joshua O'Connor in Sydney. Photographer Caroline McCredie

Challengers is released in cinemas on April 18 with the fictional story revolving around former tennis prodigy Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), her husband Art Donaldson (Faist) and her ex Patrick.

“It was kind of terrifying,” O’Connor said of walking the red carpet for what was the first stop on a global press tour to promote the film. “You do feel like every move you make, like where you put your foot seems like the biggest decision of your life. It is terrifying but it is really nice that people turned up because that could have been a lot worse.

Red carpet appearances are not the most comfortable part of the job for Faist either.

“(It was) awful,” he surmised. “This is like my least favourite thing about movie-making and things. It was very big and very daunting but you all were very lovely and welcoming so thank you for that.”

Mike Faist, Zendaya and Josh O'Connor attend the Australian premiere of Challengers at the State Theatre on March 26, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. Photo: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Further stops on the promotional tour include Paris, Rome, London, Monte-Carlo and Milan.

Zendaya too, despite being one of the biggest name stars on the planet, gets nervous ahead of a red carpet appearance.

Dressing up, she said, helps. Travelling with celebrity stylist Law Roach, she wore a custom Loewe dress inspired by the game of tennis at the premiere.

“This was the first time that we’ve seen the film with like a real audience, which was pretty exciting and scary at the same time,” she said. “These kinds of things can be daunting and can be scary and so for me clothes is a way to just create a little shield, create a character and then you are not really yourself out there, you are someone else.”

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