There’s an all-consuming sense of perfectionism that Zendaya brings to every role she takes on (and, as a Virgo, she’s the first to admit it). But even she had to concede that she was “in way over my head” when training to play Challengers’ Tashi Duncan, the perfectly coiffed former tennis pro at the center of a love triangle between her champion husband, Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), and the ne’er-do-well amateur leaguer Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor). “Tennis is not a sport that you can just pick up and be great at. I didn’t know how to hold the racket, didn’t know the form, didn’t know a thing,” she says. “Plus, at the time, I wore glasses, so I could barely see the ball coming at my face.” Instead, she drew from her dance background to learn the sport’s moves as though they were a choreographed routine. “I’m like, If I could do a foxtrot, I think I can learn tennis footwork.” That method paid off—she received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance. But the Luca Guadagnino–directed film wasn’t the only project that required her to tap into a new physicality. Here, the 28-year-old discusses going from the tennis court to the sands of Arrakis in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, why she loves playing Rue in Euphoria, and what she’s watching when she’s not working.
At what point did you realize you just weren’t going to be able to master tennis?
Midway through training, I remember getting really frustrated. There would be some days where I would feel like, Okay, I’m starting to get the hang of this, and then other days where I couldn’t get a ball over the net. Then I realized we were going to be filming without a ball. Every tennis sequence was thought through and choreographed, so I said, well, maybe I should learn the choreography. That’s something my body has experienced. I started shadowing my very talented tennis double. I thought that may have worked, but it didn’t trick Serena Williams. She was like, “I could tell there were not real balls. But you did all right.”
And then you began filming Dune: Part Two; that must have been quite the transition.
What was so great is I had been training with the boys on Challengers every day and was in the best shape that I had been in a really long time. For Dune, the costumes were very heavy and restrictive. The first few weeks, your body’s quite sore. When I was walking through the sand every day, my butt looked great. So that worked out! I was prepared.
What country were you in?
We were in Jordan. It was very hot, and I remember thinking, Oh, man, the bathrooms are so far away,” because we had to hike to the locations. If you have to pee, you need at least 10 minutes to get out of the costumes. I was like, Damn, I don’t want to drink too much water. I had such a fear of peeing myself or shitting myself, honestly, in the suit on set. One day, I didn’t drink enough and I had a heatstroke. I felt so barfy. I remember calling my mom on the bathroom floor, saying, “I feel terrible.” She was like, “Did you drink water today?” I said no. I thought I was being smart, but you can’t do that. So, lesson learned.
Whether it’s on set or in a photo shoot, you seem to always create your own characters. Where does that imagination come from?
I was a shy kid, and I gained confidence and a sense of self when I started to audition. I’d create my own little outfits, do my own hair and makeup. Falling into different characters helped me get out of my shell.
Zendaya wears a Louis Vuitton dress.
You were also probably tall for your age.
Shy and tall. Not as tall as my mom, though. She’s been six-feet-four since she was 16, so I have nothing to complain about. But a reason why I love my job is it allows me the space to be less self-critical and try things, because I don’t have to deal with the consequences of the character’s actions in real life. When I’m Rue or when I’m Tashi, for example, I can just be messy, let the instincts come, and not judge myself because I’m not judging them.
And on the red carpet, you’re also always playing a character.
And that helps. It really does, because it’s an odd thing to get up in front of people and pose in a crazy outfit. For me, if I create a character, it makes it feel less strange.
Who was your Hollywood crush when you were growing up? Did you have posters on your walls?
Not really. I did have a Beyoncé poster on my wall, because I went to her concert for my 13th birthday. I was devastated that she didn’t sing “Happy Birthday” to me, because I guess it was close to her birthday and she was singing to the audience. My dad was like, “Do you want me to put you on my shoulders?” I was like, “No, that’s so embarrassing.” Then, after, I was like, “Damn, I should have let him put me on his shoulders so she would’ve seen me.” Thirteen-year-old me was very devastated that Beyoncé didn’t sing “Happy Birthday” to her.
What sign are you?
I’m a Virgo.
And what are Virgos like?
Controlling, perfectionists, self-critical, loyal, loving. Controlling in the sense of like, “It’s fine, I’ll just do it myself. You don’t need to help me. I can do it. It’s fine.” I actually got in trouble in class when I was a kid, because it would be group projects and I would do all the work. I was like, “You guys are going to mess it up, so don’t worry, I’ll do everything.”
Are you superstitious?
I have this joke that if my nail breaks, I break. If my nail chips or if I’m on the verge of losing it, I’m thinking, I can’t have my nail break because then I know I’m about to have a meltdown. It usually lines up with me being exhausted.
Do you have a favorite reality show, besides Dancing With the Stars? I watched you every week when you were on it in 2013.
I don’t watch Dancing With the Stars, actually.
You should have won. It was ridiculous.
Listen, I’m still harboring a little animosity about that. I felt that loss. I was only 16 years old, and it was highly stressful. Being on live television every week? It’s so scary. I took it very seriously, which, in retrospect, I wish I didn’t. I wish I’d enjoyed it a little bit more and just was like, “Eh, whatever.” You know what I mean? But I was stressing myself out. I really went through it on that.
Well, I was a huge fan of yours.
Thank you. I’ll take it.
So do you watch any reality shows?
I do. I love, unfortunately, Love Is Blind, and then I feel bad for watching it. So it’s a guilty pleasure, I suppose. It’s brutal. I’m like, “Dang, you guys know you’re on camera?”
Are you more like a cat or a dog?
I love dogs, and I’ve never owned a cat, but I feel like more of a cat. A dog will typically jump on you, and they love everyone. My personality is more catlike in that I’m self-sufficient. And cats are very resilient. Nine lives!
Styled by Law Roach at the Only Agency. Styled by Law Roach at the Only Agency. Hair by Coree Moreno for Miriam Quevedo at A-Frame Agency; makeup by Ernesto Casillas for Dior Beauty at Opus Beauty.
Style Director: Allia Alliata di Montereale. Hair for portfolio by Paul Hanlon at Dawes & Co.; makeup for portfolio by Sam Visser at Art Partner; manicures for portfolio by Michelle Saunders James. Set design by Gerard Santos at Lalaland.
Creative producer to Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott: Leonard Cuinet-Petit at January Productions; producer to Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott: Kevin Isabelle; produced by AP Studio, Inc.; executive producer: Alexis Piqueras; producer: Anneliese Kristedja; associate producer: Kimmy D’Ancona; production manager: Hayley Stephon; production coordinators: Miranda Dos Santos, Susan Lucas; photography assistants: John Neate, Jed Barnes, Chris Whitaker, Kendall Peck; digital technician: Niccolo Pacilli; digital assistant: Cassian Gray; postproduction by Dreamer Post Production; fashion assistants: Tyler VanVranken, Molly Cody, Celeste Roh, Raea Palmieri, Tatiana Isshac, Haleigh Nickerson, Lauren Marron, Savannah Steilner, Sage McKee, Frankie Benkovic, Kaley Azambuja, Tatum Sanchez; production assistants: Gigi Rosenfield, Lily Cordingley, Eli Cash, Lex Vaughn, Anderson Renno, Kat Saravia, Kyle Dekker, Wyatt Noble, Brandon Martin, Moose Krupski, Josh Muwwakkil, Bradley Gonsalves, Drew Carter, Thomas Lynch, Alex Kofman, Jackson Schrader, Anatalia Zavaleta, Joseph Wride, Matt Flynn; first AD: Steve Kemp; location manager: Kyle Hollinger; hair assistants: Kim Garduno, Ben Gregory, Marco Iafrate, Hyacinthia Faustino, Chris Foster; makeup assistants: Shimu Takanori, Laura Dudley, Brian Dean, Beatrice Sandoval; manicure assistant: Cheyenne Vander Schuur; set design assistants: Seth Powsner, Denver Stoddard, Ryan Johnson; tailors: Irina Tshartaryan, Ripsime Vartanyan, Jackie Martirosyan at Susie’s Custom Designs, Inc.
