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

students in classroom
Maskot/Getty Images

Mom Dragged For Melting Down Over Daughter's Puberty Lesson After Ignoring School's Permission Slip

Delta Ozzimo, a self-identified sex workers' rights activist, sounded off on social media after her pre-teen daughter came home with worksheets depicting basic female anatomy.

Ozzimo, whose right-wing posts include ethnocentric and racist language, initially gained some sympathy for her outrage. The mother claimed she wasn't given a chance to consent to her fifth-grade daughter's participation in a Planned Parenthood-led sex education unit by her school.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Seth Meyers discussing Donald Trump
@MarcoFoster/X

Seth Meyers Responds To Trump's 'Truly Deranged' Personal Attack Against Him With Hilarious Takedown

After President Donald Trump lashed out at late-night host Seth Meyers on Truth Social over the weekend and called him a "truly deranged lunatic," Meyers responded to Trump’s “ranting and raving” about him with a damning supercut on his program.

Trump apparently tuned in to Thursday night’s episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers, where Meyers poked fun at the president’s complaints about Navy aircraft carriers using electromagnetic catapults instead of traditional steam-powered ones. Meyers joked that Trump "spends more time thinking about catapults than Wile E. Coyote."

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

Girl's Hilarious Reaction To Getting Divisive Candy For Halloween Caught On Doorbell Cam

In the '80s and '90s, kids were raised with the understanding that they got what they got, and they should say, "Thank you," for what they received. This was true for birthdays, holidays, and trick-or-treating on Halloween, even if they got candy they wanted to throw away the instant they turned the corner.

But kids today are much more communicative about what they like and don't like, and they can be brutal in their bluntness.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Marjorie Taylor Greene
ABC

MTG Just Admitted The Awkward Truth About The Republican Healthcare Plan On 'The View'

Speaking on The View, Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke about sparring with House Speaker Mike Johnson over healthcare—and revealed that the GOP does not have any replacement for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) despite what Johnson and her fellow congressional conservatives tell the public.

Democrats have continued to reject Republicans’ proposed continuing resolution to keep the government open without considering an extension of the premium tax credit that helps subsidize health insurance for people earning between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level.

Keep ReadingShow less
protest with flat Earth sign
Kajetan Sumila on Unsplash

People Share The Best Ways To Shut Down A Debate With A Flat Earther Family Member

The Flat Earth conspiracy theory is strictly a modern online movement, rumored to have begun as a prank, that gained momentum among people who mistrust authority through the power of social media.

There is a persistent myth that Europeans in the Middle Ages believed the Earth was flat. But that is a 19th-century fabrication to sell Columbus Day, not historical reality.

Keep ReadingShow less