Zac Efron and Lily James on the simple gesture that frames the tragedy of the Von Erich wrestlers...

TOP OF THE MORNING ENTERTAINMENT SHARE OF THE DAY

Zac Efron and Lily James on the simple gesture that frames the tragedy of the Von Erich wrestlers
By LINDSEY BAHR
Updated 4:43 PM EST, December 19, 2023

Zac Efron didn’t realize how much he needed a hug.

He’d transformed himself into a mass of muscle and repressed emotion to play professional wrestler Kevin Von Erich in the new film “The Iron Claw.” It was a taxing role and unlike anything he’d done before, both physically and psychologically. He often found himself with real bruises from recreating fights in the ring. Downtime between shots, too, was usually spent lifting.

But he hadn’t quite realized how much it was affecting him until he and Lily James sat down to film the first date between his character and the woman who would marry him. Pam tells Kevin that he has oldest brother syndrome. Kevin tells her that he’s not actually the oldest: That brother died in an accident when he was 6 and Kevin was 5. He says he’s fine, but Pam gets out of her seat, walks around the table and drapes her arms around Kevin, who seems to melt in the warmth of a love that’s not conditional.

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SSG Michael Noll Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Cpl Vic Burk SGT Charlie Lee] Sgt (Join to see) Maj Kim Patterson] SFC Ralph E Kelley SPC (Join to see) SSG William Jones SSG Paul Endes CPL Douglas Chrysler PO1 H Gene Lawrence Lt Col Charlie Brown PO2 Marco Monsalve SGT Ruben Lozada A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney PO3 Charles Lewis SPC (Join to see) CPL LaForest Gray