Zac Efron has left fans stunned after photos of his incredible body transformation for his latest movie role surfaced online.
The 35-year-old High School Musical actor is set to star as professional wrestling legend Kevin Von Erich in Sean Durkin’s forthcoming A24 film, The Iron Claw - which is named after Von Erich's famous signature move.
For decades, the Hall of Fame Von Erich family has been a huge attraction in the industry, but numerous tragedies have meant that Kevin is now the last surviving son of professional wrestler Fritz Von Erich.
It seems like the former Disney Channel star is now looking to bring the Von Erichs' story to the big screen - and is certainly looking the part too.
Check out Efron as Kevin Von Erich below:Last year, pictures of Efron's new look for the flick circulated on social media and left many fans in awe, with one person comparing him to a "sexy Ned Flanders" from The Simpsons.
Another user even remarked that the Hollywood hunk looked "unrecognizable" as he "debuted an extremely beefed-up new physique, glowing tan, and a bowl haircut to play wrestler Kevin Von Erich on the set of new film, The Iron Claw".
A fan was also shocked by the transformation and said: "Got damn, I didn't think he could get a Von Erich body. But there it is."
The Greatest Showman star will be acting alongside Jeremy Allen White (Kerry Von Erich) Harris Dickinson (David Von Erich), Stanley Simons (Mike Von Erich), Holt McCallany (Fritz Von Erich), and Lily James (Pam Adkisson) in the forthcoming movie.
According to PEOPLE, a synopsis of the movie states that the story will focus on the "rise and fall of the Von Erich family, a dynasty of wrestlers who made a huge impact on the sport from the 1960s to the present day".
Efron's impressive transformation into the former WCWA World Heavyweight Championship is a result of adopting new methods of bulking up as opposed to the rigorous training he went through for Baywatch.
Speaking to Men's Health, the actor said that he "fell into a pretty bad depression, for a long time" after the 2017 role, and explained: "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, two to three percent body fat," he added.
![wp-image-1263222688 size-full](https://img.vt.co/2023/07/GettyImages-85808011.jpg)
Meanwhile, the real-life Kevin - who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009 - told TMZ in October that Efron "looked great" in pictures from the set of the movie.
"It's gonna be a hard job, I think. It's a lot of information and a lot of time and so they've got some tough work ahead of them, but I saw a picture of the guy and he looked great," he said at the time. "I don't think I ever looked that good, so I think they're going to do great."
The Iron Claw is in theaters on December 22.