Faist, who burst onto the big screen in 2021 playing Riff in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, is quietly manipulative and unassuming as Art, easily embodying his younger self's boyishness as well as the broken, tiredness of his older self.
As for the actors, this movie marks Zendaya’s arrival into complete cinematic maturity. “Challengers” also puts O’Connor, who was good as Prince Charles in “The Crown,” and Faist, who was offbeat and compelling as Riff in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” on the proverbial map.
After breaking out in a Tony-nominated role in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway, Faist brought feral desperation to Riff, dancing away with Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story.
Faist grabbed people's attention as Riff in Steven Spielberg's “West Side Story” (2021), and he is unrecognizable as the privileged, well-off, lovelorn Art.
American audiences might mistake Challengers for a sexy American sports movie, like Bull Durham. After all, it's a U.S.-set tale of tennis, produced by MGM, and headlined by one of our nation's hottest actresses, as well as one of the heralded stars of Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. They might assume they know what they're getting into.