As with all siblings, spiritual or otherwise, there’s plenty of good-natured ribbing sometimes literally.
“You were jumping off ropes and doing huge hits.”
“We had some time [training] in L.A.,” White, 32, replies.
‘The Iron Claw’ stars Harris Dickinson, Jeremy Allen White, and Zac Efron.Beau Grealy for EW
“But I don’t know, Zac, I never saw younotgood at anything.”
But the British actor’s onscreen brothers won’t stand for any self-deprecation.
“And your claw iskiller.”
‘The Iron Claw’ stars Harris Dickinson, Jeremy Allen White, and Zac Efron.Beau Grealy for EW
But even as they rose to international fame, the family struggled both in and outside of the ring.
“It’s like a Greek tragedy or a Shakespearean tale,” Dickinson adds.
“And it’s all true.”
Zac Efron.Beau Grealy for EW
The filmmaker ofThe Nestgot hooked on wrestling as a child of the 1980s and ’90s in England.
Then he came to learn of the Von Erich curse.
Durkin had seen Kerry wrestle in person, and the golden-haired Texan seemed immortal in the ring.
Harris Dickinson.Beau Grealy for EW
“I still remember that night,” he says now.
“I remember how I felt, and how I’d heard that the other brothers had died.
It just really hit me.”
Jeremy Allen White.Beau Grealy for EW
(He eventually reached out to Kevin Von Erich, now 66.
Although the former wrestler was not involved in the production, he and Durkin have since become close.)
“Especially back then, wrestlers didn’t talk about wrestling,” Durkin explains.
Harris Dickinson and Jeremy Allen White.Beau Grealy for EW
“It was all treated as fact and real.
Those lines between the persona in the ring and out of the ring, they weren’t there.
It was all persona, all the time.”
Harris Dickinson, Zac Efron, and Jeremy Allen White.Beau Grealy for EW
“It’s like, ‘There’s nothing to worry about.
He’s going to get out there and perform.’
“But I think it’s a bit of a defense mechanism they built up.
Jeremy Allen White, Zac Efron, and Harris Dickinson.Beau Grealy for EW
They had to be perfect all the time.”
(Guerrero also appears on screen, facing off against Kevin as the Sheik.)
They spent days just learning how to properly fall on their back, before graduating to flying leaps.
Harris Dickinson as David Von Erich in ‘The Iron Claw’.Brian Roedel/A24
“I was like, ‘Oh,that’swhat it looks like,'” White says with a grimace.
“‘Got some work to do.'”
Perhaps the trickiest move to perfect was the titular Iron Claw.
Director Sean Durkin and Zac Efron on the set of ‘The Iron Claw’.Brian Roedel/A24
“I felt like I was complaining a lot throughout the process, but it did hurt!”
Dickinson admits, as his costars nod in agreement.
After a while, your forearms are cramping up, and you feel silly, like ‘My arm!
Jeremy Allen White as Kerry Von Erich in ‘The Iron Claw’.Devin Yalkin/A24
I can’t do this anymore!'”
The crew then filled the stands with hundreds of rowdy extras.
“We’re not rolling,” Durkin recalls.
Lily James and Zac Efron as Pam and Kevin Von Erich in ‘The Iron Claw’.Brian Roedel/A24
“This was just actors walking into the ring.
But both of them started playing back to the crowd, swatting the crowd away and antagonizing them.
From the second the wrestlers stepped out there, it was on.”
Maura Tierney and Holt McCallany as the Von Erich parents in ‘The Iron Claw’.Brian Roedel/A24
We put those things through hell!")
Between the lengthy takes and the roar of the crowd, every hit felt 100 percent real.
“Those background performers made me feel like I belonged there,” White says.
Stanley Simons as Mike Von Erich in ‘The Iron Claw’.Brian Roedel/A24
“Leading up to those wrestling sequences, that’s probably when I was feeling most insecure.
It takes such confidence and skill to walk into a ring like that and perform.”
“The crowd was an element that I did not predict,” Efron admits.
Zac Efron, Holt McCallany, Jeremy Allen White, and Harris Dickinson as the Von Erich family in ‘The Iron Claw’.Eric Chakeen/A24
“It was like an element of theater,” Dickinson adds.
“When you’ve got an audience, it changes the way you throw yourself into it.”
Playing the hulking Von Erichs required bulking up which meant consuming thousands of calories a day.
Harris Dickinson, Zac Efron, and Jeremy Allen White.Beau Grealy for EW
White shakes his head at the memory of their diet.
and bring out a free dish.
We were eating alot."
Through marathon workouts and marathon meals, the actors formed a quick bond quicker than Simons expected.
“It felt like we were brothers.
Sean was really open about improvising and letting us just do our own things in some takes.
They also hope the film pays proper tribute to the sport they’ve grown to love.
We’ve since heard he gave a glowing review.)
After spending so many long days in the ring, they’re permanent wrestling fans.
But would they ever want to step into the ring for real?
“Oh, I would jump in,” White replies immediately.
“I would love to,” Dickinson agrees.
“Do you remember at the end of the shoot?
We were like, ‘Should we try and do this for real?'”
“We went to Sean and were like, ‘Sean, call them!
Tell them we’re ready!'”
“Yeah, call WWE!”
“Say we’re going to do it!”
The three burst into laughter, already imagining a future of spandex and dropkicks.
There’s a brief pause before Dickinson turns to the others with a slightly more serious look.
“Honestly,” he says slowly, “would you do it if they asked you?”
White gives an immediate “F— yeah,” vigorously nodding his head.
He and Dickinson then look at Efron, who stops to consider and grins.
“Only if all you guys were there.”
These interviews were conducted in compliance with A24’s SAG-AFTRA interim agreement.
