Zac Efron and The Bear star Jeremy Allen White show off their guns in FIRST LOOK from biopic of ‘cursed’ Von Erich wrestling family
Zac Efron and The Bear star Jeremy Allen White showed off their rippling muscles in a first-look image from their biopic of the Von Erich wrestling family.
Entitled The Iron Claw, the film also stars Harris Dickinson and Stanley Simons, both pictured in the haunting new promo shot that dropped on Thursday.
Harris, Zac, Stanley and Jeremy respectively play the Von Erich brothers David, Kevin, Mike and Kerry, all of whom went into the ring.
David died at 25 under mysterious circumstances, while Mike, Kerry and their little brother Chris all committed suicide.
Tragedy stalked the sports dynasty across the decades, causing an enduring legend to form around what fans call ‘the Von Erich curse.’
Quartet: (from left) Harris Dickinson, Zac Efron, Stanley Simons and Jeremy Allen White are pictured as the Von Erich brothers in a first-look image for The Iron Claw
In the heartbreaking new publicity still from The Iron Claw, four of the brothers are pictured posing affectionately together at a white picket fence.
Kevin throws an arm around David’s shoulders, while Kerry playfully pulls Mike towards him in a mock-headlock.
Although all the wrestlers in the family fought under the sobriquet Von Erich, their legal surname was in fact Adkisson.
The Von Erich wrestling tradition began not with the brothers but with their father Jack, who adopted the ring persona of a Nazi called Fritz Von Erich.
Mindhunter star Holt McCallany has been cast as Jack/Fritz, who succumbed to cancer in his 60s, having lost all his sons but Kevin.
Lily James plays Kevin’s wife Pam, while Maura Tierney portrays the family’ matriarch Doris and Aaron Dean Eisenberg features as Ric Flair.
Last year, before he started shooting The Iron Claw, Jeremy dished to GQ that he was planning to gain 40lbs of muscle for his part.
He also shed light on his personal connection to his character, musing: ‘There’s something human about never feeling like you are really your own man.’
Throwback: The real Chris, Mike, Kevin and Kerry Von Erich are pictured with their mother Doris Adkisson, who lived through the deaths of all but one of her sons
There he is: The Von Erich wrestling tradition began not with the four brothers but with their father Jack, who adopted the ring persona of a Nazi called Fritz Von Erich (pictured)
The Shameless star added: ‘All great drama is about family, whether it’s blood or not. It’s about acceptance, it’s about belonging, and just getting away from loneliness.’
The Iron Claw is helmed by Sean Durkin, who rose to prominence in 2011 with the buzzy indie thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene starring Elizabeth Olsen.
In an interview with TMZ last year, the real Kevin Von Erich showered praise on Zac, saying with a laugh that ‘I saw a picture of the guy – he looked great, man, I don’t think I ever looked that good!’
Kevin also spared a few warm words for Sean, adding: ‘I talked to the director. He seemed like a really nice guy.’
While he predicted that the movie would be a ‘hard job’ because of all the ‘information’ and the lengthy time period that has to be crammed into the script, he was optimistic that ‘they’re gonna do great.’
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