US actress Zendaya has swapped her athletics-inspired style for a corset lace gown while promoting her new tennis film.
The Euphoria star, who plays tennis prodigy-turned-coach Tashi Duncan in the romantic film titled Challengers, was sporting a black and baby pink lace and tulle gown with spaghetti straps on the black carpet of the Los Angeles premiere.
The 27-year-old had been styling tennis-inspired outfits during the press tour for the film, including a white halter neck dress embroidered with a tennis motif comprised of two rackets during the London premiere.
In the film, Zendaya stars opposite West Side Story actor Mike Faist, who wore an all-black ensemble to the premiere, and British actor Josh O’Connor who wore an oversized grey pin-striped suit with mint green cuffs and a matching shirt.
Zendaya’s character is married to Art (Faist), who is a tennis champion on a losing streak set to face off against Patrick (O’Connor), who is his former best friend and Tashi’s ex-boyfriend.
“I think both of these incredible actors that I get to grace the stage with, Mike and Josh, are just so talented, and brilliant and also very nice,” Zendaya told Variety on the carpet.
“They’re very kind people and so I think chemistry or whatever, we were able to train together, we did our tennis training together, we rehearsed, which was a luxury for a film like this and just got to get to know each other and feel like we kind of created a team.
“We were really a team because it was just the three of us, having that support from them was really, really special and allows for you to do your best work.”
O’Connor, who stars as Prince Charles in The Crown, spoke about bonding with his co-stars.
“The first day of rehearsals, everyone is nervous (like the) first day of school. Mike had just done this (Steven) Spielberg movie, and he was fantastic, West Side Story, and obviously Zendaya is Zendaya and I just thought maybe I’ll just have to up my game.
“But we turned up and the two of them are the exact same and we’re insecure and shy and fearful as anyone else would be in those situations, so I think that kind of bonded us immediately and it was easy from there.”
He also said the film was the first time he had worked with an intimacy coordinator which he said was “very important”.
Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, who directed Timothee Chalamet in Bones And All and Call Me By Your Name, also arrived at the premiere sporting a tailored cream jacket and matching neck tie.
Zendaya told The Hollywood Reporter that she spoke to Chalamet ahead of filming Challengers who said “wonderful things” about the Italian director.
“Luca is brilliant, I’ve wanted to work with Luca for a very long time and this just seemed like the absolute perfect thing,” she said.
“When we first met about the script he had such a keen, deep understanding of the characters from the beginning and a clear idea of the kind of movie he wanted to create.”
The Hollywood star had an outfit change ahead of the film premiere, sporting a bright yellow-green plunge dress with a tennis ball cinching her waist.
Challengers will arrive in Irish cinemas on April 26th.
