Zac Efron calls transformation for "The Iron Claw" the hardest thing he's ever done

Zac Efron stars as Dallas wrestling legend Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw. The movie is based around the tragic story about one of the greatest wrestling families in the history of the business.

Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson also star in the movie as Kevin's younger brothers, Kerry and David respectively. Current AEW World Champion MJF also makes an appearance in the movie. The trailer for the movie has had wrestling fans excited, with many praising the look of Efron and his co-actors.

Not only did the actors have to look convincing as professional wrestlers of the 80s, they also had to look convincing while they were in the ring. Speaking to Access Hollywood at the premiere for the movie, the High School Musical star acknowledged how much work he needed even before the shoot for the movie started to be able to convincingly play Kevin.

“(When) you’re playing a real person and it’s a true story, there’s an extra bit of motivation to get things as honest and real as possible. And I knew that going into this, after watching the footage of Kevin in the ring, that the physicality was gonna be the hardest thing to get right. So I started training probably six months before, and it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he said. (H/T Access Online)

---

Zac Efron was trained by former WWE champion

As mentioned before, the actors required intensive training to be able to convincingly pull off being a wrestler. The movie's director, Sean Durkin, tasked a former WWE cruiserweight and tag team champion in Chavo Guerrero to be the actor's wrestling teacher. He had previously worked on shows like GLOW and Young Rock too.

Belonging to another of wrestling's most known families, Chavo understood the importance of depicting the legendary Von Erichs, and he has been all praise for the stars of the movie. Apart from training the actors, the former WWE tag team champion also appears as The Sheik in the movie. The Iron Claw releases in theaters on 22nd December. Fans can watch the trailer for the movie below.

Are you going to watch the movie? What did you think of the trailer? Let us know in the comments section below.

Please give credit to Access Hollywood along with transcription credit to Access Online if you use any quotes from the article.