‘The Iron Claw’ Director Reveals Why Chris Von Erich Isn’t Part Of The Cast

Chris Von Erich will not be featured in The Iron Claw, and director Sean Durkin explains why.

Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Harris Dickinson lead the cast of The Iron Claw. A24’s upcoming film about The Von Erich wrestling family will bring the family’s tragic story to theaters later in 2023. Efron, Allen White, and Dickinson will play Kevin, Kerry, and David Von Erich, respectively. Another member of the family, Chris Von Erich, is not part of the film’s essential story. Chris dealt with health issues throughout his life, and he committed suicide in 1991.

Devan Coggan of EW interviewed Efron, Allen White, and Dickinson. The article also included a note about Chris Von Erich. Coggan wrote that Durkin says he “chose to omit the youngest Von Erich brother, Chris purely to keep the film’s length managable.”

Zac Efron Talks The Von Erichs

Coggan noted that Efron, Allen White, and Dickinson watched footage of The Von Erichs, hoping to learn about their personalities. Efron shared what he took away from the videos and offered a glimpse into what he learned.

“The boys are all very still and quite stoic at times,” Efron said “But I think it’s a bit of a defense mechanism they built up. They put these walls up to the outside world in order to stay strong enough to persevere through everything they had to do. They had to be perfect all the time.”

The Iron Claw is scheduled to be released on December 22, 2023.