As Hollywood has become fixated on the tragedies of professional wrestling thanks to films such as The Wrestler and shows like Dark Side of the Ring, Sean Durkin’s The Iron Claw centers on arguably the most tragic of all. The film tells the true story of the doomed Von Erich wrestling family, and recently we learned that Zac Efron would be starring as one of the grappling brothers. Well, now we know who will be joining him, and which of the Von Erichs they’ll be playing.
Deadline reports the red-hot Harris Dickinson has joined Efron in The Iron Claw. Dickinson will play David Von Erich, with Efron as brother Kevin Von Erich. The film will follow 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.
Many believe the Von Erichs were cursed. Patriarch Fritz Von Erich led the revered wrestling family out of Texas where they were treated like royalty. Fritz’s first-born son Jack died at age 6 by drowning. His son David, seen as the greatest wrestler of all of Fritz’s kids, died in Tokyo in 1984 from inflammation of the small intestine, a totally freak thing to happen. Following that, Fritz’s wrestling sons Mike, Chris, and Kerry all committed suicide. His last surviving son, Kevin got out of the business but not without his share of emotional scars.
Dickinson broke out with the 2017 indie Beach Rats, and quickly followed that up with roles in Maleficent 2, The King’s Man, The Souvenir Part II, and most recently Where the Crawdads Sing. He’s still got two more movies coming this year: Ruben Ostlund’s festival darling Triangle of Sadness, and detective comedy See How They Run.
