Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Zac Efron's Beefed Up Physique On Set Of New Wrestling Movie Has Fans Gobsmacked

Zac Efron
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

Zac will play wrestler Kevin Von Erich in the new movie 'The Iron Claw.'

Zac Efron instantly gained admirers after bursting onto the Hollywood scene in the early 2000s as Troy Bolton in Disney's High School Musical film trilogy.
But long gone is the teen heartthrob persona fans associated him with as he went on to pursue other cinematic endeavors in movies like Dirty Grandpa (2016), The Greatest Showman (2017) and in Netflix's biographical crime drama as serial killer Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019).

While his chiseled physique and sapphire blue eyes remained some of his more striking features, social media users did a double take as a recent photo of him looking beefed up on the set of his latest film made the rounds on the internet.

The 35-year-old is currently filming for his new movie, The Iron Claw, in which he plays one-time world champion wrestler, Kevin Von Erich of the Von Erich professional wrestling family from Texas.


Efron's impressive transformation for the role made him nearly unrecognizable.

Would you still recognize him?

@HeelWillMahoney/Twitter

The photo of Efron sporting a bowl cut, shirtless, and wrapped in a towel while checking his phone, was taken from the Louisiana set.

And it had Twitter buzzing.

Those who remembered what Kevin Von Erich looked like compared notes.



The film is poised for drama as the real-life Von Erich family was mired in successive tragedies which led to a widespread myth that the family was cursed.

A wrestler himself, the family patriarch, Fritz Von Erich–whose real name was Jack Adkisson and adopted the stage surname to portray himself as a villainous German Nazi–died of cancer at the age of 68 in 1997.

Five of his six sons predeceased him.

His firstborn, Jack Jr. died from drowning in a puddle after an accidental electric shock at age six; David Von Erich died from enteritis at 25; and Mike, Chris, and Kerry Von Erich all committed suicide at 23, 21, and 33 years of age, respectively.

Effron plays the last surviving Von Erich son, Kevin, who is 65 today.

Some people thought Efron would've been better suited to portray Kerry Von Erich, who is being played by Jeremy Allen White.

White currently stars in the Hulu drama series, The Bear.





After the rigorous training he endured for 2017's Baywatch, Efron said he wanted to try a different apporach to training for his newest film.

He told Men's Health:

"That Baywatch look, I don't know if that's really attainable"
"There's just too little water in the skin. Like, it's fake; it looks CGI'd. And that required Lasix, powerful diuretics, to achieve."
"So I don't need to do that. I much prefer to have an extra, you know, 2 to 3 percent body fat."

He added:

"At one point, that was a dream of mine — what it would be like to not have to be in shape all the time? What if I just say, 'F--- it' and let myself go?"
"So I tried it, and I was successful. And for all the reasons I thought it would be incredible, I was just miserable. My body would not feel healthy; I just didn't feel alive. I felt bogged down and slow."

The Iron Claw is directed by Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer Sean Durkin.

There is currently no official release date.

More from Entertainment/tv-and-movies

Senator Chris Murphy, President Donald Trump
Facebook.com/Senator Chris Murphy / Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Dem Senator Drops F-Bomb In Fiery Video After Trump Calls For Congressional Democrats To Be Hanged

Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said "maybe it's time to pick a f**king side" in response to President Donald Trump's call for a group of congressional Democrats who are military veterans to be executed after they reminded U.S. troops that they must disobey unlawful orders.

Senators Elissa Slotkin (Michigan) and Mark Kelly (Arizona) joined Representatives Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan (Pennsylvania), Maggie Goodlander (New Hampshire), and Jason Crow (Colorado), all of whom are veterans. In a video message, they noted that the Trump administration is "pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens."

Keep ReadingShow less
Two people facing each other resting their hands in their heads accross a table from one another
a man and a woman sitting at a table
Photo by Good Faces on Unsplash

Dating Red Flags People Ignored And Instantly Regretted It

Many of us are taught growing up to give people the benefit of the doubt.

A belief many people adhere to when dating.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot from @prissyxoxo25's Threads post
@prissyxoxo25/Threads

Woman Rejects Boyfriend's Proposal After He Bought $900 Ring From Walmart—And The Internet Has Thoughts

Relationships can dissolve for all kinds of reasons, but a key reason that's become more popular with the prevalence of TikTok and Reddit is not staying with someone who doesn't listen to their partner or prioritize their needs.

Knowing a person's favorite song or how they take their coffee might seem like a mundane thing, but it's an intimate detail that shows that you care about your partner's likes and interests.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dr. Jennifer Tsai; Person holding Christmas lights
@drjenandjuice/TikTok; Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

People With Astigmatism Are Flabbergasted After Realizing What Christmas Lights Look Like To Other People

Sometimes you don't know what you don't know until someone shows it to you in a TikTok video.

For instance, a person might not know about the possibility of having an astigmatism, which is an ocular condition that causes blurriness in vision, and the blurriness worsens with bright, contrasting lights. Blurring taillights at night, especially when it's raining, is a common occurrence among those with astigmatism.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @lookitskateeee's TikTok video
@lookitskateeee/TikTok

Family Goes Viral After Throwing Hilariously Dramatic Funeral For Child's Pacifier

All children grow and develop at different rates. Whether they crawl earlier, walk later, have trouble letting go of the baby bottle, or just cannot get behind the idea of mushed green beans, each child will have a journey all their own.

But an experience that more families than not know is the very real attachment many babies and toddlers develop to their favorite beloved pacifier.

Keep ReadingShow less