iron claw

Zac Efron almost unrecognizable as he seriously beefs up for new movie role

By · 11 comments
Zac Efron
Zac Efron (Photo: Shutterstock)

Zac Efron was spotted on the set of his latest movie on Monday and he’s almost unrecognizable.

Efron, 35, plays wrestler Kevin Von Erich in the new movie, The Iron Claw. He was spotted shooting in Louisiana.

Related: Zac Efron’s latest beach pics leave the Internet totally parched

Kevin was one of the sons of Fritz Von Erich, whose real name was Jack Adkisson. Dad Fritz began his career playing a Nazi on the wrestling circuit in the 50s and 60s. He became hugely successful and his sons followed him into the ring, often utilizing their father’s trademark “Iron Claw” finishing move.


Efron has clearly beefed up for this role as the late wrestler, leading many online to speculate as to his methods. He sports Kevin Von Erich’s signature bowl-cut hairstyle and a deep tan. More photos appear in The Daily Mail.

Zac Efron’s appearance

Last month, Efron spoke out about rumors of plastic surgery on his face. He now looks distinctly different from how he looked even just a few years ago. He told Men’s Health he’d had an accident in 2013.

Efron slipped while running at home and fell, smashing his jaw and requiring reconstructive surgery on his chin.

He said that because of the surgery, his jaw muscles had grown to “compensate” for the damage.

“The masseters just grew,” he said. “They just got really, really big.”

Related: The internet is very concerned with a photo of Zac Efron’s face

Efron’s latest role is not the first time he’s gone to extreme lengths to physically get into character. He subjected himself to a grueling fitness regime ahead of shooting Baywatch in 2018. He later said he took things too far, taking diuretics to shed water from his skin to better show the muscles beneath.

“That Baywatch look, I don’t know if that’s really attainable,” he told Men’s Health, as a warning to readers.

“There’s just too little water in the skin. Like, it’s fake; it looks CGI’d.”

He said the whole experience had taken its toll on him.

“I started to develop insomnia and I fell into a pretty bad depression, for a long time. Something about that experience burned me out.

“I had a really hard time recentering. Ultimately they chalked it up to taking way too many diuretics for way too long, and it messed something up.”

Fritz Von Erich and his sons

The story of the Von Erich wrestling clan is ripe for drama. Five of Fritz’s six sons died young. The first, Jack Jnr, died aged just six when he drowned in a puddle after an electrical shock.


Another, David, 25, died of a suspected drug overdose on a wrestling tour in 1984. Kerry Von Erich, 33, died by suicide in 1993. Another two sons, Mike and Chris, also both died by suicide.

At the time of Fritz Von Erich’s death in 1997, aged 68, only one son, Kevin, remained.

There’s no release date yet for The Iron Claw, which is written and directed by Sean Durkin.

Don't forget to share: