Actor Zac Efron has earned the seal of approval for his role as Kevin Von Erich from the retired pro wrestler and WWE Hall of Famer himself. A member of pro wrestling history’s famous Von Erich family, Von Erich was one of five brothers who’d performed as wrestlers, though sadly, he’s also the only one who’s left alive. All of his brothers died at young ages leading to speculation within the pro wrestling fandom that the Von Erich family was “cursed.”

The Von Erichs’ story will be told in A24’s The Iron Claw, a feature film that’s now shooting with Efron in the role of Kevin Von Erich. Recently, images of Efron taken from the set were shared on social media, revealing our first look at how he’ll appear as the legendary wrestler. It’s clear that Efron has been in the gym to transform his body into that of a pro wrestler, and while the photos aren’t much, they’re enough to give the real Von Erich some confidence that Efron will be doing him justice with his performance.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

“It’s got to be a hard job. It’s a lot of information, and a lot of time, and so, you know, they’ve got some tough work ahead of him,” Von Erich said of an actor bringing his story to life. “But I saw a picture of the guy, he looked great. I don’t think I ever looked that good. So, I think they’re going to be great. I’ll bet they do.”

Von Erich also mentioned how he spoke with the movie’s director, Sean Durkin, about telling his family’s story in The Iron Claw. Explaining his own motivation to get bigger, Von Erich said he was never a bodybuilder, but he had just wanted to be strong so he could perform at a higher level in the wrestling ring. The former wrestler goes on to further stress how impressed he was with the actor’s body transformation compared to images he’d seen of a much smaller Efron in previous roles.

“I just saw this picture and he looks really good and muscular,” Von Erich says. “He must really be working out hard. From the picture that they showed me at first, and the picture I saw the other day, he must really be working hard.”

Noting that he hasn’t spoken to Efron but that his daughters are on board with the casting as well, Von Erich added, “My daughters love him, and so they think he’s the right guy to do it.”

The Von Erich Legacy Lives On

     Vice

Kevin Von Erich’s sons, Ross and Marshall Von Erich, also perform as pro wrestlers these days, carrying on the family name in the pro wrestling business. They too posted an image of their father alongside Efron from the set of The Iron Claw and showed their support for the upcoming movie.

The post reads, “Excited about this new project on our family and it really looks like Zac Efron is taking this role seriously. Very pumped to watch The Iron Claw.”

The Iron Claw does not yet have a premiere date.