The Iron Claw: Zac Efron cites Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler and the late Matthew Perry as inspirations

Last Updated on December 20, 2023

Zac Efron’s earning some of the best reviews of his career for his starring role as Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw (check out our rave here). Despite often being cast as a pretty boy thanks to the enduring legacy of the High School Musical series, Efron cites his casting in the film as a full circle moment. In an interview with Variety, Efron says that in 2008, when he was at the height of his High School Musical fame, he went to see Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler with his father. He cites Mickey Rourke’s performance in that film as one of the key inspirations for his career, telling the publication, “I was watching it with my dad, and I remember looking at him in that moment, saying, ‘That’s what I want to do. That’s where my heart is.”

As Efron explains in the wide-ranging interview, it wasn’t an easy road for him, with him famously struggling with substance abuse issues, as well as the need to maintain an impossibly high standard for his physique. He’s famously weighed in on how his Baywatch diet and use of diuretics plunged him into depression. But he also says that one of the reasons his career has lasted so long is keeping close ties with past collaborators, including John Cena, Robert Pattinson and Nicole Kidman.

One notable absence from this list is Matthew Perry, who co-starred with him in 17 Again. “His passing is affecting me a lot,” he says, regretting that he didn’t reach out to the star in the years following their movie. “It’s very important to reach out to friends and foster relationships where you can talk and share stories. I wish in the past couple of years that I had an opportunity to do that with Matthew. I hold the time we shared together really dear. I’ve been thinking about him a lot, every day.”

Indeed, Efron seems particularly well-liked by many of his former colleagues, with Kidman telling Variety that he deserves to be “lauded” for The Iron Claw. “I know he put his whole heart and soul into that movie, and I watched him physically and emotionally change to play that role.”

The Iron Claw is out in theaters on December 22nd. Take it from me: it’s one of the best movies of the year and should be the movie that finally takes Efron to the next level as a star and actor.