Ben Foster, Merritt Wever & Katy O’Brian Join Sydney Sweeney In David Michôd’s Christy Martin Biopic As Filming Starts In North Carolina

Black Bear has unveiled a raft of cast additions to David Michôd’s untitled Sydney Sweeney-led biopic about boxing champion Christy Martin, as filming starts.

The film tells the true story of Martin, who rose to fame as America’s most successful female boxer in the 1990s, at the same time as dealing with personal demons and toxic relationships behind the scenes.

The new arrivals on the production include Emmy nominee and Independent Spirit Award winner Ben Foster (Hell or High Water), Emmy winner Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie), 2024 breakout Katy O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding, Twisters), Ethan Embry (Sweet Home Alabama), Jess Gabor (Shameless), and Chad L. Coleman (The Wire).

Sweeney was previously announced to star as the renowned boxer, with a script written by Mirrah Foulkes and Michôd. Production commenced today in North Carolina. 

A naturally gifted fighter, Christy’s life transformed in 1989 when she met her manager, and later husband, Jim Martin. Breaking boundaries, she became the first woman to sign with iconic promoter Don King, and the only female boxer to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Her charisma, good looks and unwavering resilience in the ring won her a wide fan base and propelled her to become welterweight champion. But behind the scenes, Martin was dealing substance abuse, and a toxic relationship with her husband, who attacked her in their Florida home in 2010 and left her for dead on the bedroom floor.

The untitled project is being produced by Kerry Kohansky-Roberts for Anonymous Content,  Michôd for Yoki, Inc., Justin Lothrop and Brent Stiefel for Votiv, Sweeney for Fifty-Fifty Films and Teddy Schwarzman for Black Bear, which is also fully financing.

Executive producers include Michael Heimler and John Friedberg for Black Bear, Foulkes, Brad Zimmerman for Yoki, Inc., David Levine, Ryan Schwartz and Nick Shumaker for Anonymous Content, and Harrison Huffman.

Black Bear is handling the international rights, while UTA Independent Film Group, AC Independent (Anonymous Content’s sales and finance division), and Black Bear are co-representing U.S. rights. This picture marks the second collaboration between Sweeney and Black Bear, who recently partnered on horror vehicle Immaculate which was released by NEON. 

Foster is represented by Range Media Partners and Felker Toczek Suddleson McGinnis Ryan LLP. Wever is represented by Innovative Artists, Viking Entertainment, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein.

O’Brian is repped by the Gersh Agency, Luber Roklin Entertainment, RCM Talent & Management, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich, Goodell & Gellman. Embry is repped by Independent Artist Group, Mosaic, and Mark Wetzstein. Gabor by Buchwald. Coleman is repped by TalentWorks and Vanguard Management Group.