Zac Efron Jokes His Ego Was Bruised Filming Iron Claw in a Speedo: ‘This Is Magic Mike!’

Zac Efron reflects on the “biggest injury” he suffered during his new wrestling movie: his ego.

After the premiere of A24 Iron Claw at The Ritz Carlton in Dallas, Texas this week, the 36-year-old actor joked during a press conference that the worst pain he experienced while training to play professional wrestler Kevin Von Erich “was probably the ego.”

“It was the first time I had to walk into the Sportatorium in Kevin’s costume, which was honestly just a Speedo or trunks,” the actor recalled. “And everyone was out, there was a big crowd and the lights were on. I just remember thinking at that point, how the hell did I end up here? What is happening?”

In the midst of all that noisy crowd and scanty clothing, he remembered what went through his mind: “This is Magic Mike.”

Channing Tatum Says He’s ‘Done’ With ‘Magic Mike’: ‘I Would Only Go Back For ‘Grumpy Old Strippers’

(Left to right:) Harris Dickinson, Zac Efron, Stanley Simons, Jeremy Allen White in “The Iron Claw.”

A24/Twitter

He added: “At that moment I was frozen in time, I just went: This is it. This is the end. How did you get here? What choices did you make?”

Writer-director Sean Durkin said of the film’s skin-baring costumes, “We just wanted to celebrate your beautiful thighs.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Iron Claw follows “the rise and fall of the Von Erich family, a wrestling dynasty that has made a major impact on the sport from the 1960s to the present,” according to the synopsis.

As for the cast’s other biggest injuries, the actors who play the late Kevin Von Erich brothers had mixed responses.

Zac Efron at the premiere of “The Iron Claw”.

Omar Vega/Getty

Iron Claw Actors Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson ‘would love’ to enter the WWE ring

Jeremy Allen White, who plays Kerry, said he experienced “nothing catastrophic” from filming Iron Clawwrestling sequences. “The worst part was waking up in a little bit of pain,” the Emmy nominee said Bear star. “You have some bruises, for sure.”

“We had very good stuntmen on set [who] they were just looking out for us the whole time and keeping him safe,” added Stanley Simons, who plays Mike. “It’s a testament to the environment Sean created on set. So I can say that I got injured because I felt safe doing what I did because of the preparation and because of the coordinator.”

Harris Dickinson, who plays David, joked that his most dramatic injury happened off set: “I bit my tongue at a barbecue restaurant.”

“Iron Claw”.

A24

Wrestler Kevin Von Erich reacts to Zac Efron’s portrayal in ‘Iron Claw’: ‘It looks really good’

Kevin Von Erich himself, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009 as the only remaining member of the Von Erich Brothers, was present during the press conference. The 66-year-old told the cast: “I’m sure you were on your way to getting a few [injuries] because all the things you’ve learned take weeks to get comfortable with.”

He gave a shout out to film consultant and stunt wrestling coordinator Chavo Guerrero, who “did a great job pushing them and getting them ready. Because it was a lot harder than it looks, and they did so well.”

Asked what surprised him most about the world of professional wrestling, Efron said he gained “a tremendous amount of respect for the athleticism involved.”

“There’s a commitment and a level of excruciating torture, just pure athleticism for the athlete’s sake.”

Efron told PEOPLE at Iron Claw on the premiere red carpet that he was “devastated” by the loss of his 17 Again actor Matthew Perry.

“He was a mentor to me and we made a really cool movie together,” he said. “I looked up to him, I learned comedic timing from that guy… It was so surreal for me to look across and see him there, because I learned so much from him, from his whole life.”

He added that he might play Perry in a future biopic Friends star, “We’ll see. It would be an honor to do it.”

Iron Claw it’s in theaters on December 22.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education