Zac Efron has opened up about the pressure of having to appear in the tiniest bottoms for The Iron Claw.
The Iron Claw sees the former High School Musical star step into the shoes of professional wrestler Kevin Von Erich to tell the story of "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," according to it's official synopsis.
For the film, Efron underwent an intense physical transformation to embody the professional wrestler - as well as getting into the spirit of the time through his interesting wardrobe choices.
Speaking during a press conference following the premiere of his latest movie, the 36-year-old actor joked that despite all of the stunts he was forced to do, the biggest injury he sustained was to his ego thanks to the skimpy attire.
"It was the very first time that I had to enter the Sportatorium in Kevin's full costume, which was just, frankly, a Speedo, or trunks," the actor said when speaking of the intense training he had to undergo to play pro wrestler Kevin Von Erich.
"And everybody was out there, there was this huge crowd and the lights were on. I just remember in that moment thinking, how the hell did I end up here? What is going on?"
All he kept thinking in his head was: "This is Magic Mike."
"In that moment I was frozen in time just going: This is it. This is the end. How did you get here? What choices have you made?", he continued, laughing.
Sean Durkin, a writer and the director on the film, clearly encompassed a fangirl mentality when he replied to Efron with: "We just wanted to celebrate your guys' beautiful thighs."
When asked what surprised him most about the world of professional wrestling, Efron said he gained "a tremendous respect for the athleticism involved."
"There's a commitment and a level of agonizing torture, just pure athleticism for the sake of athleticism," he added.
Opening up about the grueling wrestling sequences that the actors had to endure on the set of the movie, Efron's co-star Jeremy Allen White, who plays Kerry, said that he definitely earned himself the odd bruise though there was "nothing [too] catastrophic."
"The worst of it was really waking up a little sore," Allen White. "You got some bruises, for sure."
"We had really good stunt coordinators on the set [who] were just looking out for us the whole time and making it safe," added actor Stanley Simons, who plays Mike. "That is a testament to the environment that Sean created on the set. So I can say I got injured because I felt safe to do what I was doing because of the prep and because of the coordinators."
Kevin Von Erich also made an appearance at the press conference and during his speech, he addressed the cast members directly.
"I'm sure that you guys were on your way to getting a few [injuries] because all the stuff you guys learned, it takes weeks to get comfortable with that," the 66-year-old stated, before going on to add that the film’s consultant and stunt wrestling coordinator Chavo Guerrero "did a great job pushing them and getting them ready. Because it was a lot more difficult than it looks and they did so well."
The Iron Claw is set to be released on December 22 in the United States, and later on in 2024 for other parts of the world.
