Jeremy Allen White and Zac Efron star in the upcoming A24 movie The Iron Claw about how four brothers created a wrestling dynasty back in the ‘80s. The cast not only showed off their wrestling moves, but their hard bodies with seemingly no hair in sight on them. One of the film’s leads, Jeremy Allen White, remembers that when he first met his co-stars, everyone had to go through a full body shave where he thought they all “looked ridiculous.”
Without a doubt, Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and the rest looked wild in The Iron Claw's trailer. There’s no hiding those tiny wrestling speedos with every lift and body slam done in the ring. While these actors are sporting some mad ‘80s hairstyles on the top of their heads, the rest of their bodies are practically hairless. While speaking to Variety at the release of his movie, The Bear actor revealed what it was like meeting his co-stars for the first time and how they all “looked ridiculous” with shaved bodies.
Our bodies had to be completely shaved. We were strangers at the time. Now I know them and love them, but at the time, it was like, ‘Hi, nice to meet you and yes, they’re shaving off all of our body hair.’ It was incredible but we also looked ridiculous.
It’s common for many pro wrestlers to shave their body hair in order to increase their sex appeal. Plus, it would make their moves faster and easier to do. Not only was shaving their body hair an abnormal experience but so was having to squeeze into their tiny wrestling outfits. Jeremy Allen White remembers none of his male co-stars being confident having to wear those ‘80s athletic costumes since they were always shorter and smaller than what they were used to wearing. At least in today’s day, wrestlers have a variety of singlets and other spandex-type costumes they can wear to hide skin. No skin was covered in the wrestling scenes of the ‘80s-set flick which means audiences will get to see all.
Portraying the Von Erich wrestlers also meant the cast having to match the bulk of the real-life brothers too. It was apparently a “gross” struggle for Jeremy Allen White who felt like he had to eat more than he wanted. His ongoing diet for the movie consisted of waffles, almond butter, avocado, and turkey patties. While trying to consume as much as he could, the Shameless actor definitely didn’t feel good and would never want to continue this diet after the movie. But, at least White’s connections starring in The Bear helped him and the rest of the cast bulk up scoring some free restaurant dishes for the recognized star.
Jeremy Allen White claims his co-star Zac Efron had a completely different experience getting in shape. Apparently, the High School Musical actor was confident in his focus on training and dieting, blowing everyone away. As the former Disney star had experience getting next-level ripped for Baywatch, this shouldn’t come off as too surprising. But with Efron’s new fit look, there was jokingly some sibling rivalry between the two co-stars. The Golden Globe winner humorously said it felt intimidating standing close to him with fear of sizes being compared. But playing brothers, of course, he knew it was unavoidable.
It looks like the cast of The Iron Claw will not only be ripped but have totally hairless bodies in the wrestling ring. If Jeremy Allen White and his co-stars weren’t happy about their newly smooth chests, luckily hair grows back fast. You can watch them all enter the ring in the 2023 movie release coming to theaters on December 22nd.
