In her 27 years of life thus far, Zendaya has made quite the career for herself. But with great fame comes lots of sacrifices.
Zendaya's Challengers costars found that out when she revealed she often forewent hanging out in public with them for fear of "making it a not so fun night" due to her celebrity status and the inevitable paparazzi party crashing.
Challengers began filming in 2022—arguably at the height of the Dune star's career up to that point—but wasn't released by its August 2023 target date due to the SAG-AFTRA strike last year.
At the time, Zendaya—already a star for more than a decade—had just finished Dune and Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021. Soon after, she picked up a second Emmy for Euphoria, and began a private—with a very public interest—relationship with her Spider-Man costar Tom Holland.
So, yeah, we can see how her presence anywhere could cause a public frenzy, but it's still unfortunate that it resulted in her missing out on quality time with her Challengers costars.
While speaking with New Zealand magazine Coup de Main alongside Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, Zendaya opened up about the sacrifices she made in order for the rest of the cast to enjoy their nights out.
Talking about her star status, Zendaya first shared:
"I will say grocery shopping for me has gotten difficult.”
You can watch below.
Zendaya continued:
“My life was starting to change a little bit more while we were shooting, and I remember everybody was going out, and I was like, ‘You know what, I’m not gonna join you because I think it might make your night not so fun, you know?’”
Faist chimed in:
“We would have enjoyed having you regardless."
“We were always like..."
And Zendaya interjected, laughing:
“‘You’re welcome to come!’”
Faist nodded:
“Of course!"
Zendaya then acknowledged:
“Yeah, I know.”
People shared their disappointment that Zendaya's success makes it nearly impossible for her to experience any sense of normalcy, especially in regards to her friends.
Just last week, Zendaya told Vogue she is learning she "can say no."
But she still is learning to balance life and career.
"You have to say yes, because you need to be grateful that you’re here."
“And while I still feel that way, I also have learned that I can say no, and I can say kindly that I’m having a day off, or I’m just trying to be to myself today, and I don’t actually have to perform all the time.”
While she loves the work she does, Zendaya admitted it may not always be the best path for her.
"I don’t necessarily want my kids to have to deal with this."
“And what does my future look like? Am I going to be a public-facing person forever?”
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