Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Stanley Simons star as Kevin, Kerry, and Mike Von Erich in The Iron Claw. You can see the film in theaters everywhere starting Friday, December 22.
The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.
Efron explained to me, “What it really came down to, I think, was exploring that relationship between the brothers and then also between all the brothers and their parents, specifically their father, Fritz, who’s just a very overbearing father figure for them. There was no acceptable way to be, except which was perfect, and to leave it all on the field and to give one-hundred percent effort in everything you do and excel was really their only option. That was something ingrained in them very young, so I don’t know. There’s an emotional undercurrent, I think, through the whole film and what it’s like to really have that be your primary goal and focus in life and to be the only thing you know.”
“Yeah, I think they depended — like their identity was so wrapped up in wrestling and then even previous to wrestling, I think for Kevin, it was football and for Kerry, it was discussing the Olympics, [and] at being the best,” White reflected. “They all depended on their father to kind of give them this direction and I think also, like, sense of… accomplishment. They were just so dependent on him. If he didn’t give that to them, then they didn’t know where they could find it. They certainly couldn’t find it from sort of within themselves.”
Simons continued by adding, “It’s such a tragic story, but it’s also, I think, one about, as you talked about earlier, a story about men’s allowance to be vulnerable. I think that’s a big deal. They weren’t really allowed to open up and be vulnerable. So, I think there’s a difference between that and wanting to.”
I spoke with the talented trio about the idea of “what makes a man” and masculinity that is presented through this family as well as how they were challenged emotionally by their roles.
Watch my interview below:
