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Zendaya talks about her “first time really being a leading lady” in Luca Guadagnino’s Challengersas well as how important roles in movies like The Spider-Man franchise have catapulted her to a new level of recognition.
Into a new one cover story for Elle magazine which was performed before the SAG-AFTRA strike began in July, the 26-year-old star and award-winning multihyphenate opened up about her fashion journey from Disney Channel tween to red carpet icon, that Louis Vuitton Paris Fashion Week viral runway show moment with Law Roach and how her latest role in it Challengers — which was originally set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival before being pushed to a 2024 release — will take her into the “next stage” of her career.
“I felt like it was a good step into a more, you could say, ‘mature’ role and into the next phase,” Zendaya said of her role in Challengers as Tashi Donaldson, the fictional tennis phenom turned coach caught in a love triangle. “It was a little scary getting started, which I think is a good feeling. To say, “Ooh, can I do this?” You can run from that feeling and stay safe and comfortable, or you can say, “You know what, fuck it.”
The role was a challenge for the actress, who felt herself “terrified” while pretending to play tennis for the crew, but also one that allowed her to perform intense sex scenes “in line with Zendaya’s,” according to the magazine. own conceptions of sensuality as an implicit language.”
“That’s what Luca does so well,” she said of Guadagnino, who herself noted that Zendaya’s handling of temptation is “really beautiful” in the film. “It’s the things that aren’t. It’s the moments between the moments. Like, chemistry. The things you can’t always say, but you can feel.”
“That’s Luca’s specialty when it comes to filmmaking,” she continues. “All the things that aren’t on the page that only someone with a camera can find.”
Guadagnino also complimented the way the Emmy-winning actress and producer “expresses and exudes the power of her athleticism,” even though Zendaya herself said scenes of her playing tennis caused performance anxiety.
“The more I had to pretend I was playing tennis in front of a camera with an audience, the more scared I became. And I didn’t even use a real ball,” she said with a laugh. “I just do the form and the footwork and make sure my swing is good and do it in front of a whole bunch of people like it’s the US Open, and I’m terrified.”
The role was challenging not only physically, but also when it came to characterizing a role that the actress and producer said stars like her rarely get. Zendaya revealed that she still doesn’t understand the decisions Tashi makes, “and we had so many conversations about the psychology of her and why she is the way she is.”
But “what was important to me was that she didn’t apologize about it,” she continued. “Sometimes characters who are messy and conflicted and wield power over other people are reserved for (actors) who don’t look like me, so if I get the chance to play a character like that, I’ll take it!”
During the interview, Zendaya also spoke about the growing attention for her as a Hollywood star, which she says she started noticing while filming in Boston last year.
“After the last Spider-Man and the last season of Euphoriathere was a profound change,” Zendaya explains. “I used to be able to get away with going somewhere and getting in and out. But in Boston, I ended up going straight back home because it was really overstimulating. Everyone went to hang out at a bar or something, and I said, ‘I’d love to, but I think I could ruin everyone’s night. Because it’s just not going to be fun once I get there.’ ”
That attention has spilled over to her personal life and relationship with her Spider-Man co-star Tom Holland, with the actress acknowledging that she’s focusing on controlling her privacy in the ways she can.
“Parts of my life, I accept that, will become public,” she explained. “I can’t be a person and live my life and love the person I love. But I also have control over what I share. It’s about protecting the peace and letting it be your own, but also not being afraid to exist. You can’t hide. That’s no fun either. I navigate it now more than ever.”