Zac Efron has truly broken out of his Disney teeny bopper phase, and one of his upcoming movies, Iron Claw, is earning major praise from the person he’s portraying.
Kevin von Erich, one of the famed members of the von Erich wrestling, is offering high praise to Zac Efron: “It’s gonna be a hard job, I think, it’s a lot of information and a lot of time and so they’ve got some tough work ahead of them, but I saw of a picture of the guy and he looked great…I don’t think I ever looked that good, so I think they’re going to do great. I’ll bet they do.”
Kevin von Erich expanded, saying, “I’ll tell ya, for the picture that they showed me at first and the picture they showed me the other day he must really be working out hard because you’re right, he does have a good body.”
Kevin’s son, Marshall, also admires Efron’s commitment:
Zac Efron is no stranger to getting into incredible shape for a movie–even if he may have some past regrets, as he did with 2017’s Baywatch, in which he suffered from insomnia and depression. “I got very big and buff for that movie, but I don’t want people to think that’s the best way to be. Like, be your size… I don’t want to glamorize this.” With this, one wonders if Zac Efron has taken a different approach to playing a fit character.
The von Erich family wasn’t just one of the most expansive and popular families in wrestling history, they were also marred by tragedy. Kevin is the last of his brothers, surviving David, Mike, Chris, and Kerry, the last three of which died by suicide. Another, Jack, died at just six years old. In 2009, the family was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
In Iron Claw, Jeremy Allen White will play Kerry, while Harris Dickinson will play David. The movie is named after one of the signature holds popularized by the von Erich family.
How do you feel about Zac Efron playing a Von Erich? Will you see the movie when it hits theaters?