Coming in hot off the success of The Bear, which has definitely caused a “shift” in his career, Jeremy Allen White is currently at work on The Iron Claw, a wrestling drama about the real-life Von Erich family. Joining White is co-star Zac Efron, who has already been spotted looking absolutely jacked for the A24 film. White and Efron will star as two of the numerous Von Erich brothers, Kerry and Kevin respectively, and they’ve been hard at work beefing up for the roles.
According to White, Efron immediately reached out as soon as he was cast and sent him a “really lovely note” to get him pumped for the months ahead: “Get training, eat, keep doing what you’re doing, stay hard,” Efron wrote. Via GQ:
White will try to put on 40 pounds of muscle to play Von Erich. It feels like an unusual role for him, but what White most appreciates is that the wrestler has something in common with Carmy: a quiet discomfort with his surroundings, a sense that he doesn’t belong. “There’s something human about never feeling like you are really your own man,” says White. “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.”
White has his worked cut out for him because Efron has already set the bar pretty high. In early November, the actor showed off his transformation into Kevin Von Erich, and it’s clear that Efron took his own advice. The guy looked absolutely shredded in a still from The Iron Claw that he shared on Instagram.
(Via GQ)