Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White filmed full wrestling matches for Iron Claw

It’s still real to Zac Efron, damn it.

A24’s upcoming biopic, The Iron Claw, has a lot on its plate. In addition to dramatizing one of professional wrestling’s most infamous tragedies, director Sean Durkin had to make sure Efron and his co-stars Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson were convincing as the first family of pro wrestling, the Von Erichs. So rather than using movie magic through stunt performers and quick edits, Durkin filmed full matches in front of live crowds of his actors taking bumps and getting heat.

Speaking to EW, Durkin said that one night, they filled an old furniture showroom retrofitted to look like the Texas Sportatorium where the Von Erichs cut their teeth. As soon as the film’s heels were introduced, the crowd erupted in boos. The cameras weren’t even rolling. It was “just actors walking into the ring,” Durkin said. “From the second the wrestlers stepped out there, it was on,” he continued, testing the adhesive that kept Efron’s Prince Valliant wig glued to his head. “I’m shocked they stayed on,” Efron said. “We put those things through hell!”

“Those background performers made me feel like I belonged there,” White said. “Leading up to those wrestling sequences, that’s probably when I was feeling most insecure. It takes such confidence and skill to walk into a ring like that and perform.”

Keeping a wig on is one thing. Performing the titular “Iron Claw” is another, according to Dickinson, who, admittedly, felt like he “was complaining a lot throughout the process.” Let it be known that fake squeezing someone’s head is more challenging than the real thing, particularly if one’s hand is prone to cramping. “You have to create the idea that you are inflicting pain with just the squeeze of your hand and the shake,” Dickinson said. “After a while, your forearms are cramping up, and you feel silly, like ‘My arm! I can’t do this anymore!’”

Dickinson better start stretching his fingers because Efron says he’s ready for the WWE. Could Efron be the guy to finally defeat Roman Reigns and end the Bloodline’s grip on the WWE Universe? Well, in the words of Jeremy Allen White, “I never saw [Efron] not good at anything.”