Those who remember him as the teenager who danced and sang in the very successful franchise started by High School Musical back in 2006 will be in for a huge surprise, and the same will happen to those who have seen him more recently in films like The Greatest Showman alongside Hugh Jackman or Extremely cruel, evil and perverse, in which he played the murderer Tel Bundy. Zac Efron is truly unrecognizable in The Iron Clan, Sean Durkin’s film in which he plays the wrestler Kevin Von Erich, a member of a Texas family clan that made history in his day. After gaining seven kilos of muscle, Efron demonstrated his physical prowess alongside Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson.
What led you to participate in The Iron Clan?
I always admired Sean Durkin as a filmmaker. And I often wondered if he would ever be able to participate in one of his movies. When we finally met in New York to talk about the possibility of working together, he told me that the training was going to be very unusual. I thought he was going to propose something like Magic Mike. But then he explained to me that it was a story set in the world of professional wrestling. He told me it was a true story, and over the next two hours, he explained to me who the Von Erichs were and his plan to make a movie about them. The idea captivated me and I said yes at that same meeting. I knew it was going to be intimidating, but these types of challenges are what make working in this industry so exhilarating. That’s why being an actor is something fascinating. And Sean was clearly the type of person who was able to guide me to become Kevin Von Erich.
Were you familiar with the Von Erich story when Sean told you about this story?
Not at all. It was Sean who explained everything to me, and he told me that it was too much for a family to happen to. It struck me that this was a true story, and it seemed to me that that was the focus of the story, not the wrestling. My impression was always that this was not a movie about fighters but about loss and family life. Ultimately, the important thing is that Kevin was able to overcome this crazy curse and the relationship with a father like the one he had.
What did you learn about overcoming family tragedies from participating in this film?
I have not suffered losses as important as those experienced by this family. But I have to say that having a younger brother certainly made this story that much more impactful for me. I have such a strong connection with him that it made what we tell in the film feel very personal to me. There is something very special about the relationship you have with your siblings. They are your best friends and the ones who always push you. I was fascinated that in Sean’s script you could see the love they have for each other. Plus, working on this movie allowed me to gain a couple of new brothers, so I could get in the ring with them and beat them up. It was truly fun.
What was it like to create this family in fiction?
At first we all felt like fish out of water, putting on the suits and going out to fight in the ring, but we were all together in that experience, which was truly unique for each of us and that helped us feel like family. What was clear was that everyone really wanted to participate. That’s why it was very fun to be with all of them in the ring, because we could get on top of each other and it was very motivating to see when one of us did everything very well. They were all very excited about the opportunity, and everyone who shared this film with me were very talented actors.
Did Sean’s encyclopedic knowledge of wrestling and the history of the Von Erich family help in filming?
A lot. It was always clear to me that Sean knew all the details, even about the fighters who have been forgotten today and were famous in those days. He remembered details of the fights, which he had seen on television at his house. That he could talk to us about that was very important. He also helped us a lot in the ring. We have an amazing trainer named Chavo Guerrero who is an icon, and he is electric in the ring. We didn’t have much time to prepare, so we learned as quickly as we could, and Chavo helped us perfect ourselves. Then we would film what we had learned that day. We would do as many takes as we could, until Sean felt like he had what he needed. But it was all about the ring for me, because I tried to be as specific with my moves as I could.
Was it difficult to become a real fighter?
Chavo comes from a family of fighters. He told us about the shows and life on the road, touring. Some of the stories we heard about what life is like in and out of the ring for professional wrestlers helped us a lot. All of us who participated in the film left the filming with tremendous respect for the world of wrestling, knowing how hard all these people work. Chavo greatly valued the intensity with which we worked to become fighters and the more we learned, the more he helped us. He was one of the reasons the fight scenes in the movie look so good.
He met the real Kevin Von Erich after making the film. What was it like meeting him?
That was one of the most rewarding moments of my life. It was quite an experience to be able to see him at this stage, enjoying a huge family, in which he is almost like a guru, because there is an almost ethereal quality to him. It was wonderful to be able to speak frankly with him, knowing everything he has been through and having told one side of his story. Luckily he loved the movie, particularly the relationship he has with his on-screen siblings.
His Kevin is a stoic man, who tolerates his father’s abuse without complaining and that means that when tragedy occurs, the impact on the audience is much greater…
That was what was in the script, but it was also the instructions that Sean gave me when it came to taking on the character. In our subsequent conversation, Kevin told me that he appreciated that my interpretation showed his inability to express his emotions about what was happening with his father in front of anyone, for a long time. He hid what happened in the ring, how demanding she was with him, and the impact it had on his life. That made me feel very good.
