Summary
- Zac Efron is 5’8″, making him six inches shorter than Kevin Von Erich, the pro wrestler he portrays in The Iron Claw, who is 6’2″.
- Zac Efron and the real Kevin Von Erich’s height difference wasn’t so glaring onscreen, since all the other actors in The Iron Claw were also shorter than their real-life Von Erich counterparts.
- Zac Efron physically transformed to achieve Kevin Von Erich’s jacked physique by gaining 15 pounds of muscle and undergoing a strict workout regimen.
Zac Efron plays larger-than-life professional wrestler Kevin Von Erich of the famous Von Erich brothers in The Iron Claw, but there’s a bit of a height difference between the actor and the wrestler in real life. Written and directed by Sean Durkin, The Iron Claw tells the true story of Kevin Von Erich and his family, who rose to fame in the ’80s and dominated the competitive world of professional wrestling. Although they achieved immense success in the ring, the famous family was believed to suffer from the “Von Erich curse” due to the immense tragedies they endured.
Of the six real-life Von Erich brothers (including the eldest, Jack Jr., who died at six years old), Kevin is the only surviving Von Erich brother today. To portray the jacked Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw, Efron underwent a major physical transformation. Despite his complete embodiment of the pro wrestler onscreen, there is one aspect of Kevin’s physicality that Efron wasn’t quite able to emulate.
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Zac Efron Is 6 Inches Shorter Than The Real Kevin Von Erich
The Wrestler Is Quite A Bit Taller Than The Actor Who Portrays Him
While Efron managed to get jacked like Kevin Von Erich for The Iron Claw, the actor didn’t quite reach the same heights as the wrestler—literally. Zac Efron is only 5’8″ tall, or 1.73 m, while Kevin Von Erich stands a whole 6 inches taller at 6’2″ tall, or 1.88 m. Though some sources have Kevin’s height listed as 1.91 m, which would make him 6’3″ tall, it’s stated in The Iron Claw that Efron-as-Kevin is 6’2″ tall. Either way, Kevin is definitely over 6 feet in real life, which Efron is far from reaching.
The Iron Claw managed to make this height discrepancy between Efron and the real person he’s portraying work with a little movie magic.
It’s not uncommon for movies to create the illusion that an actor is taller than they are in real life, intentionally or unintentionally. However, when a film portrays multiple real-life people whose height info is publicly available, it becomes a little more complicated. The Iron Claw managed to make this height discrepancy between Efron and the real person he’s portraying work with a little movie magic.
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How The Iron Claw Makes Sense Of Zac Efron & Kevin Von Erich’s Height Difference
The Iron Claw Pulled Off The Height Difference With Strategic Casting
Strategic lighting and angles most likely played a role in making Efron seem taller onscreen, but what helped the most was that all the actors who play the other Von Erich brothers in The Iron Claw are also shorter than their real-life counterparts by at least an inch. The biggest height discrepancy is between Jeremy Allen White and Kerry Von Erich. Standing at only 5’7″ tall, Allen White is a whole 7 inches shorter than Kerry, who was 6’2″ tall, the same as his older brother Kevin.
Casting actors who were all shorter than the real Von Erichs they portrayed in The Iron Claw ensured that Efron’s and Kevin’s height discrepancy wasn’t a problem onscreen.
Harris Dickinson plays the tallest Von Erich brother, David, who was a whopping 6’8″ tall, or 2.08 m. This worked out, though, since Dickinson is somewhere between 1.83 m and 1.86 m tall, making him over 6′ tall. Casting actors who were all shorter than the real Von Erichs they portrayed in The Iron Claw ensured that Efron’s and Kevin’s height discrepancy wasn’t a problem onscreen.
|
The Iron Claw Actor’s Height vs. Real-Life Counterpart’s Height |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Actor |
Height |
Von Erich Family Member |
Height |
|
Zac Efron |
5’8″ |
Kevin Von Erich |
6’2″ |
|
Jeremy Allen White |
5’7″ |
Kerry Von Erich |
6’2″ |
|
Harris Dickinson |
6′ to 6’1″ |
David Von Erich |
6’8″ |
|
Stanley Simons |
6’1″ |
Mike Von Erich |
6’2″ |
|
Holt McCallany |
6’1″ |
Fritz Von Erich |
6’4″ |
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Zac Efron’s Strength & Wrestling Training For The Iron Claw Explained
Efron & His Co-Stars Were Trained By A Real-Life Wrestler For The Iron Claw
In real life, Efron may not be as tall as Kevin Von Erich, but he certainly looked the part. Efron told Variety that he worked out on a daily basis for months to get into shape, which became “a singular focus” in his life.
Efron developed a workout regimen that combined “old-school body-building [with] Olympic lifting.”
According to personal trainer Farren Morgan, achieving Efron’s physique in The Iron Claw involves three phases. The first is bulking, which involves upping one’s caloric intake for increased energy to fuel a higher weight-lifting capacity. The next phase is cutting to lower one’s body fat percentage, followed by maintenance to retain this new muscle growth and allow one’s body to adapt to it. Efron started with volume training to increase his muscle mass by 15 pounds. Then, “toachieve that specific look of pro wrestlers,” Efron developed a workout regimen that combined “old-school body-building [with] Olympic lifting.”
All the wrestling stunts in The Iron Claw were performed by the actors themselves.
As for the onscreen wrestling itself, Efron and his co-stars were trained by real-life wrestler Chavo Guerrero, Jr., who also had a cameo as fellow real-life wrestler The Sheik in The Iron Claw. Guerrero explained to Men’s Health that all the wrestling stunts in The Iron Claw were performed by the actors themselves. “Any time they were in the ring,” he said. “it was them doing the moves.”
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Why Kevin Von Erich Wrestles Barefoot In The Iron Claw
Zac Efron’s character in The Iron Claw Kevin Von Erich notably wrestles barefoot even though his opponents and teammates step into the ring in boots.
Although his dance background from his High School Musical role helped Efron prepare for The Iron Claw’s intense wrestling choreography, performing each routine in full multiple times in a row was still a strenuous process. “These matches were anywhere from seven to 15 minutes long and we wouldn’t break at all,” Efron recalled. “We would complete them, start to finish. And then they’d do it over again to get coverage.” All-in-all, transforming into a pro-wrestler for The Iron Claw was no easy feat for Efron, but it certainly paid off in the finished product.
Sources: Variety, GQ, Men’s Health
The Iron Claw (2023)
The Iron Claw portrays the rise and fall of the Von Erich family, a dynasty in professional wrestling. Directed by Sean Durkin, the film explores the family members’ personal struggles and tragic fates and the lasting impact they left on the sport.
- Release Date
- December 22, 2023
- Director
- Sean Durkin
- Cast
- Zac Efron , Jeremy Allen White , Harris Dickinson , Holt McCallany , Maura Tierney , Stanley Simons , Lily James , Maxwell Friedman , Brady Pierce , Aaron Dean Eisenberg , Kevin Anton , Cazzey Louis Cereghino , Chavo Guerrero Jr. , Ryan Nemeth , Scott Innes
- Runtime
- 132 minutes