Incredible Hulk or Zac Efron? For his new movie Iron Claw the actor transformed pro wrestler Kevin Von Erich, complete with bulging muscles, a chiseled chest, and rock hard abs. Though fans were also commenting on his face, saying he looks “so different now,” but he shut down any plastic surgery accusations with the revelation that he underwent facial reconstruction surgery after breaking his jaw in 2o13.
Iron Claw, a biopic about the Von Erich family, releases on Dec. 22nd. Efron stars alongside Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson, who also underwent some major body transformations. The High School Musical star told Entertainment Tonight all about what it was like to change his body for the role. Keep reading for more information.
Zac Efron gains major muscle
To play a professional wrestler, it's no shock that Efron had to put on a lot of muscle to look the part. "It was shocking at every point of the transformation," he said about the process. And while it took a lot of hard work, Efron says Kevin Von Erich, who is now 66-years-old, "really motivated me to get in shape for this movie."
"The physicality he brought to the ring every single day was really unique," the actor continued. "It changed wrestling. I knew it was going to be the hardest for me to master and get right. So, I put everything I had into it."
Luckily, Zac has some experience transforming into different characters. For the 2017 movie Baywatch, the actor had to go through rigorous training, working out twice a day 5-6 times per week, though looking back, he said, "That Baywatch look, I don't know if that's really attainable." He had to take diuretics to reduce the liquid content in his body, and overall, it caused him to burn out.
But what about his face?
A lot of fans were more focused on what appeared to be a facial transformation, taking to social media to speculate if he'd gotten plastic surgery, asking, "What's going on with Zac Efron's face?"
Efron revealed to Men's Health that he did indeed get surgery, but not what fans were thinking. After breaking his jaw in a life threatening accident in 2013, he had to get facial reconstruction surgery. The issue was with his masseter muscles, the muscles that run through the cheek to the lower jaw and help to close the jaw while chewing. "The masseters just grew," he explained. "They just got really, really big." So if the actor's face looks a little different, it's just because doctors had to reconstruct muscles in the face and jaw so they'd work properly again.
Fan reactions
The trailer for Iron Claw came out just over a month ago, and fans took to the comment section of the YouTube video to share their excitement for Zac Efron's new role. "Very excited to see Zac Efron perform!" one person wrote. "Such a talented guy."
"An Oscar nomination for Zac Efron," another fan added. "No doubt."
"Zac Efron always gives his all to every role he plays," another person pointed out. "The commitment to transforming his body into a new character every few years is insane."
"The effort he put in for the physique is very impressive," another fan agreed.
"Zac Efron looks like a Von Erich and it is awesome to see him get a role like this and own it," a fifth fan posted.
"Zac Efron looks incredible," a final fan added. "Such a gifted actor. I'm definitely buying tickets." Us too!
