Zendaya is getting candid about the conversations surrounding her kissing scenes in films and television series.
The Emmy-winning actress chatted with Jake Hamilton, the creator behind YouTube account Jake’s Takes, while promoting Challengers. She sat down with her co-stars, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, for a brief conversation ahead of the release of Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming film.
At one point in the interview, Hamilton pointed out to Zendaya that when she does a kissing scene, it seems to get an “abnormal” amount of attention, and she agreed, noting, “I know, it’s very odd.” He went on to ask her if she thinks people have forgotten that’s part of an actor’s job, or if they’re simply using it as a way to get her to talk about kissing.
“I have no idea. I don’t know if it’s because they want it to be, like, a viral thing, I don’t know. But I have noticed that, with me specifically,” Zendaya explained. “I feel like other actors don’t… if it was somebody else here, you probably wouldn’t [have] asked that question.”
She continued, “But yeah, it is a part of my job, and it is a completely normal part of the job despite, I think, maybe other people’s perception of our job. But yeah, it is odd.” The Euphoria star thanked Hamilton for bringing that up because she thought the same thing, adding, “I’m like, this is weird!”
Challengers follows Zendaya’s Tashi, a tennis player turned coach, who turns her husband, Faist’s Art, into a grand slam champion, according to its description. When Art begins a losing streak, she has him enter a challenger event, which is one of the lower-level tournaments in a pro tennis tour. It isn’t long before tensions swell, as Art finds out he’s playing against his former best friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend, Patrick (O’Connor).
In a previous conversation with Vogue for its May cover, the Malcolm & Marie star said that playing someone closer to her actual age in the film — as opposed to a high schooler — was “refreshing” but also “kind of scary.”
“I was like, I hope people buy me as my own age, or maybe a little bit older because I have friends that have kids or are having kids,” she said of portraying a mom in the film.
Challengers hits theaters April 26.
