Going the distance: Actors who acquired sports skills for movie roles

Making a sport look natural onscreen is often the biggest challenge actors face while playing certain roles.

While the challenge usually requires some good old acting and an organic flair for imitation, most performers can’t get away without proper training.

From stars who had dabbled in sports they were required to learn to complete newbies, the history of cinema is filled with impressive actor-turned-athlete performances.

Keanu Reeves in ‘The Matrix’

Keanu Reeves had to master the art of martial arts for The Matrix (1999). While his character in the film, Neo, acquires the skill with a single memory installation in the sci-fi release, Reeves and his castmates had to train hard over months with martial arts choreographer and director Yuen Woo-ping to make the sport look effortless onscreen.

The cast of ‘Challengers’

Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist — the trio of actors who led Challengers (2024) — were all required to train in tennis for the different levels of the sport depicted in the film. The actors received help from former tennis pro and coach Brad Gilbert in learning how to bring their A-game to the world of ball and racket.

Kevin Costner in ‘Tin Cup’

Kevin Costner plays a local golfer who wins a first shot at the national level in Tin Cup (1996), but he still needed his game to resemble that of someone who knew the sport inside out. To do just that, the veteran actor was trained by American golfer Gary McCord to make his onscreen swings look real enough.

The cast of ‘Point Break’

Led by Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, Point Break (1991) included bank-robbing surfers whose gang gets infiltrated by an undercover FBI agent. To convincingly ride the waves, Reeves, Swayze, actress Lori Petty, and others received training from actor-surfer Dennis Jarvis.

Margot Robbie in ‘I, Tonya’

Margot Robbie played former figure skater Tonya Harding in the biopic I, Tonya (2017). The Australian actress perfected her moves by training multiple times a week over a period of five months to closely emulate the skills of the Olympian athlete.