Zendaya reveals details behind three-way Challengers kiss with Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist

Zendaya has revealed the details behind her three-way kiss in Challengers with her co-stars Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.

The buzzy movie starred Zendaya as Tashi, a former tennis star who had to leave the profession because she suffered an injury early in her career.

Mike plays her husband Art, whom she molds into a tennis star, while Josh plays her ex-boyfriend Patrick, another tennis player.

When Art and Patrick find themselves playing each other during the ATP Challenger Tour, a sizzling love triangle forms between them and Tashi.

Challengers became a social media sensation for the electric sexual chemistry between the leads – particularly a kissing scene involving all three of them.

Now, in an Actors On Actors interview with Nicole Kidman, Zendaya has lifted the curtain on the process of shooting the scene, via Variety.

Zendaya (center) has revealed the details behind her three-way kiss in Challengers with her co-stars Josh O'Connor (left) and Mike Faist (right)
Zendaya (center) has revealed the details behind her three-way kiss in Challengers with her co-stars Josh O’Connor (left) and Mike Faist (right)

The subject came up when the actresses were talking about the difference between playing a scene spontaneously or acting according to a pre-decided plan.

‘You can tell if someone’s thinking about what they’re going to say or what they’re going to do with their hand,’ said Zendaya.

‘I’ve caught myself doing that, when you dissociate mid-take. Or you start thinking: “Why did I just do that with my eye? That was a really weird choice,”’ she dished.

She shared that she has been ‘asked a lot about the three-way kiss scene’ in Challengers – and revealed how she responds.

Zendaya tells inquirers: ‘”Really, it’s a four-, five-, six-, seven-, eight-, nine-way kiss,” because there’s so many people. There’s a camera coming at us at a certain time.’

She spilled: ‘I know that when I go from Mike to Josh, when the camera comes in, I gotta move back. There’s so many things at play.’

As for her real love life, Zendaya is still in the throes of her longtime romance with her fellow international superstar Tom Holland.

Zendaya and Tom were the subject of dating rumors since they wrapped Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017, their first movie together.

The buzzy movie starred Zendaya as Tashi, a former tennis star who had to leave the profession because she suffered an injury early in her career
The buzzy movie starred Zendaya as Tashi, a former tennis star who had to leave the profession because she suffered an injury early in her career
Mike (left) plays her husband Art, whom she molds into a tennis star, while Josh plays her ex-boyfriend Patrick, another tennis player
Mike (left) plays her husband Art, whom she molds into a tennis star, while Josh plays her ex-boyfriend Patrick, another tennis player
When Art and Patrick find themselves playing each other during the ATP Challenger Tour, a sizzling love triangle forms between them and Tashi
When Art and Patrick find themselves playing each other during the ATP Challenger Tour, a sizzling love triangle forms between them and Tashi
Now, in an Actors On Actors interview with Nicole Kidman, Zendaya has lifted the curtain on the process of shooting the scene, via Variety
Now, in an Actors On Actors interview with Nicole Kidman, Zendaya has lifted the curtain on the process of shooting the scene, via Variety

However she repeatedly denied that they were an item for years before they confirmed that they were romantically involved in 2021.

‘He’s literally one of my best friends,’ Zendaya said during a 2017 interview, shortly after the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

‘This past how many months we’ve had to do press tours together. There’s very few people that will understand what that’s like at 20 years old,’ she told Variety.

Indeed both Zendaya and Tom have reportedly dated other people in the years between when the rumors started and when the romance was confirmed.

Zendaya was linked to her Euphoria co-star Jacob Elordi in 2019, while Tom was said to have gone into COVID-19 lockdown with English actress Nadia Parkes in 2020.

However in July 2021, Tom and Zendaya became public as a couple when they were spotted kissing in a car after paying a visit to her mother.

Since then, the pair have not shied away from being seen together, but they have been reticent to discuss the details of their relationship in public.

Tom shed some light on their tight-lipped stance last year when he appeared on a podcast hosted by the self-help guru Jay Shetty.

'You can tell if someone¿s thinking about what they¿re going to say or what they¿re going to do with their hand,' said Zendaya
‘You can tell if someone’s thinking about what they’re going to say or what they’re going to do with their hand,’ said Zendaya

‘My relationship is the thing I keep most sacred. I don’t talk about it,’ he said. ‘I try my best to keep it as private as possible.’

He explained: ‘We both feel like that is the healthiest way for us to move on as a couple, so I do try to keep as removed from Hollywood as possible.’

‘Our relationship is something that we are incredibly protective of and we want to keep as sacred as possible,’ he told The Hollywood Reporter the same year.

‘We don’t think that we owe it to anyone, it’s our thing, and it has nothing to do with our careers,’ the The Crowded Room actor added.

Related Posts

™ Tyson Fury and UFC legend Conor McGregor compared, with one living in Morecambe and another splashing cash around world ‎

Tyson Fury and Conor McGregor are two of combat sports’ highest-paid combatants The two, both 35, have earned millions of pounds from their exploits in the boxing…

™ GREGGS-ELLENT Multi-millionaire Paris Fury enjoys a ‘lazy’ weekend with husband Tyson as they tuck into a tasty treat from Greggs

PARIS Fury may be a multimillionaire, but she swapped fine dining for a tasty treat from Greggs at the weekend. The mum-of-six and wife of boxer Tyson Fury,…

™ PARIS’ WAY Mum-of-seven Paris Fury shares shop she ‘loves buying from’ for her kids… and it’s not B&M or Home Bargains

WE all know that Paris Fury is a regular at Asda, B&M and Home Bargains. The mum-of-seven is a self-confessed bargain hunter, despite having a reported combined…

™ SECRET TO SUCCESS How Paris Fury made herself rich in one year WITHOUT Tyson’s help despite being full-time mum-of-seven AND giving birth

MUM-OF-SEVEN Paris Fury has proved she can take on the world after stepping down from Tyson’s company to focus on her own projects. Since flying solo, the…

™ Tyson Fury reveals wife Paris is pregnant with their EIGHTH child with cryptic message ‘#8 is coming soon’ in latest post

TYSON FURY has suggested that his spouse Paris is allegedly carrying their eighth child. His companion was lauded by the boxer on social media after she dazzled…

™ Mum-of-seven Paris Fury’s 14-year-old daughter Venezuela looks unrecognisable in glam festive shot

PARIS Fuɾy’s tее𝚗аɡе ԀаuɡҺtеɾ аρρеаɾs tσ bе fσllσwι𝚗ɡ ι𝚗 Һеɾ ᴠеɾy ɡlаm fσσtstеρs. TҺе ρɾσuԀ mum sҺаɾеԀ а ρҺσtσ wιtҺ Һеɾ fσllσwеɾs σf Vе𝚗еzuеlа, 14, аll ԀɾеssеԀ…