Challengers stars Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist nailed the sexually charged churros scene in just two takes

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains plot details for Challengers, now in theaters.

Josh O’Connor had never eaten a churro until he filmed Challengers.

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The British actor and his co-star Mike Faist enjoy the deep-fried, doughy delicacy in one of the film’s raunchiest scenes. In short: Patrick (O’Connor) is visiting his girlfriend Tashi (Zendaya) and his best friend Art (Faist) at Stanford when the two young men meet in a cafeteria. They sit across from each other and devour the churros.

“We actually only did two takes of that scene,” O’Connor said at the drama’s premiere in Los Angeles. “They were delicious. I had my first churro that day.”

So why churros? As if that question even needs to be asked. “Because they’re a delicious snack,” says screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes with a grin. “They’re very popular in California – that’s why.”

Kuritzkes says O’Connor and Faist added their own twists to the sexually charged scene.

“They were always discovering new physicalities, new things, unspoken things,” he says, adding, “They were always finding great, great moments, so I can’t take all the credit for it.”

The tennis love triangle drama revolves around Tashi, a former tennis pro who dates Patrick during college but later marries and coaches Art. The couple’s relationship is put to the test when Patrick re-enters the couple’s lives.

At the beginning of the film, shortly after the three met as teenagers, Patrick and Art kiss after each made out with Tashi. Are the two men gay? That is unclear.

“What’s true about a love triangle is that every love triangle is inherently queer,” says Kuritzkes, adding, “Whether you intend it or not, you are in an intimate relationship with two other people.”

O’Connor says, “They’re all fluid. They all love each other in some way and they’re figuring that out. They’re trying to understand where and how that plays out, and I don’t know if there’s a clear answer to that, but I think they’re all completely connected. They’re all in it.”

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