Is The Iron Claw based on a true story?

But if the movie's cast, which features the likes of Zac Efron and The Bear's Jeremy Allen White, led you to believe you're in for a lot of hot, fun wrestling, then you're in for a shock.

Based on a fascinating but tragic true story, The Iron Claw follows the rise and extremely dramatic fall of the Von Erich family, who made waves in the world of wrestling during the 1980s.

It's a tragic tale of toxic masculinity, questionable parenting and intergenerational trauma.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, director Sean Durkin, who has a stellar track record including films Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Nest and the TV show Dead Ringers, explained that he had long been a fan of wrestling and said that although he couldn't pinpoint the exact moment he became aware of the Von Erich's, he was immediately interested in them and their story.

"I was a fan of wrestling as a kid and I came across them somewhere in... you know, I used to get like magazines and read about territorial wrestling in America and just sort of go on these deep dives and find old videos, and I came across them in an old video.

"And I just like loved the way the Sportatorium looked, and how the brothers worked together on the ring and the energy they had. And then at that point, Kerry had made it to WWF and I'd seen him live a few times, and sort of was aware that like, maybe his brother had died, but there was no way to sort of paint the big picture.

"And I remember when he died, I remember reading about it, and it really stayed with me. And so I think, you know, I was a fan, but also their tragedy kind of haunted me a bit."

But who were the real Iron Claw brothers? Read on for everything you need to know about the true story behind The Iron Claw – but be warned that there are major spoilers for the film ahead.

Is The Iron Claw based on a true story?

Yes, the film tells the true story of Texas NWA Heavyweight Champion Kevin Von Erich (Efron) and his brothers, chronicling their rise to the top of the professional wrestling world in the early '80s and their subsequent downfall.

The brothers were the sons of Fritz Von Erich, who was himself a wrestler and had been determined for them all to thrive in the sport - but, although they did end up achieving considerable success, it came at great cost in their personal lives.

A series of family tragedies saw four of the five brothers – David (Dickinson), Mike (Stanley Simons), Chris (who does not appear in the film) and Kerry (White) – tragically pass away between 1984 and 1993, the former as a result of enteritis and the other three by suicide, leaving Kevin as the only surviving brother.

Although The Iron Claw is based on a true story, it is a dramatisation rather than a completely faithful retelling, and as well as the absence of Chris, there are various other historical inaccuracies and omissions in the film – including the fact that Fritz and his wife Doris actually split up in real life.

In the aforementioned LA Times interview, Durkin explained why he opted to make changes from events as they really happened.

"When you’re trying to get a film made, you have to separate it at some point and say, 'These are characters on a page, and this is a film, and there’s no way you’re going to fully capture the life of a person in a film,'" he said.

"You have to make difficult choices to try and get to something truthful or representative or emotional that reflects the core of the journey you’re choosing to tell within this family."

How many Von Erich brothers were there in real life?

The Iron Claw focuses on four brothers: Kevin, Kerry, David, and Michael.

However, in real life, Fritz Von Erich actually had another two sons, Jack Jr, the eldest, and Chris, the youngest, meaning in total, he had six sons.

Why was Chris Von Erich left out of The Iron Claw?

Speaking ahead of the film's release, writer/director Durkin explained why he chose not to include Chris in the film, despite him being in the script for the first five years of its development, suggesting that one more death would perhaps make the movie too much for audiences to stomach.

"There was a repetition to it, and it was one more tragedy that the film couldn’t really withstand," he told The LA Times. "I honestly don’t know if it would have gotten made."

Meanwhile, pressed on the tough choice of removing Chris from the film during an interview with RadioTimes.com, Durkin added: "It was very painful to come to terms with and took about a year to take him out. But it was the right decision to basically move the script from being a script that wasn't working into a film.

"And it wasn't just not working because of so much tragedy. It also just wasn't working on a character level, attention level focus, you know, it allowed it to find its sort of best self. And again, that was a thing where I think had I been in touch with Kevin, I think it might have been even harder for me to make that because I would have felt like I would have to consult with him on it.

"But at the same time, when I finally told Kevin I was so worried about telling him that Chris wasn't in it, he didn't even flinch. He was like, 'Yeah, I understand.'”

Meanwhile, ahead of production on the film, Kevin Von Erich met Efron and endorsed both his portrayal and the film as a whole – although Durkin explained that he deliberately didn't personally meet Kevin until after he had finished writing the script.

"I wanted to have some space to make decisions that I thought were best for the film," he said. "I didn't want to sort of love Kevin too much so that it would like cloud decision-making. And also, I felt like I could do that because there was so much out there, there were so much so many interviews he had given and there was so much available that I could draw from.

"So I sort of didn't need to speak to him in that sense and then just wanted that space."

The Iron Claw will be released in UK cinemas on 9th February 2024. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide or visit our Film hub for all the latest news.

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