The Big Picture

Write-director Sean Durkin brings the Von Erich family’s story to screen in the new A24 movie, The Iron Claw. During a conversation with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, Durkin discusses finding the right balance between authenticity and creative license. He also reveals which member of the Von Erich family was the easiest to cast, and which one was the toughest.

One especially complicated aspect of adapting someone’s true story to screen is figuring out when to hold tight to true events and when creative license will best serve the movie. That’s what writer-director Sean Durkin worked on for seven years while writing the script for The Iron Claw.

The movie stars Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons, Maura Tierney, and Holt McCallany as the Von Erich family. They’re legends in Texas, but eager to rise higher in the ranks in the processional wrestling space. While feeling the pressure of their father’s (McCallany) unreasonably high expectations, the Von Erich brothers struggle to power through significant tragedy while chasing the spotlight on one of the biggest stages in sports.

With The Iron Claw now playing in theaters nationwide, I got the chance to have a short conversation with Durkin about a number of key elements of the film. Check out the video at the top of this article or the interview transcript below to learn about his approach to balancing authenticity and creative license, what he looks for in a lead actor, times on set when it was most important to trust his instincts, and more.

The Iron Claw The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports. Release Date December 22, 2023 Runtime 130 minutes

PERRI NEMIROFF: I’m always interested in hearing about the evolution of a film so what would you say is the biggest difference between how you pictured Iron Claw turning out when you first said to yourself, “I’m going to make this movie,” and what everyone’s going to see in the finished feature now?

SEAN DURKIN: The challenge with this was that when I first decided to explore them and did the research and kind of laid out the family history and everything I could find about them, what I was looking at was an epic Greek tragedy. It’s mythical in proportion of what happens to them, what they went through, just the wrestling world, the highs and the lows, and so the challenge for me was starting with something so large – how do you fit that into a film? And I wrote the script for seven years, so it was a process of chipping away and finding the core. Ultimately, speaking with Kevin and hearing the way he speaks and how open he is, and how he’s sort of risen from everything that he went through and the family went through, the story of his survival became the core, and therefore, the focus of the film.

The beating heart of this film is really something else.

I’m also always fascinated to hear about finding that balance between authenticity and creative license when you’re adapting someone’s true story. Can you pinpoint something everyone will see in the movie that you knew it was of the utmost importance to hold tight to and get right, but then also something else where it was better to take creative license to best serve the film?

DURKIN: It’s a great question. There are things that I heard or read that someone said. When Kevin says, “I used to be a brother and I’m not a brother anymore,” that is something I’ve heard Kevin say. Fritz saying at the funeral, “Take off those glasses. We’re not gonna show any tears today.” Those are things that I heard him say. So there are these emotional pillars that are directly from that, but then you can’t be inside a first date or a dinner conversation so there’s things as a writer, personally, that you have to imagine or bring in your own personal things to fill those gaps.

That date is such a good scene. I love how she drives that scene with such authority.

DURKIN: She’s a great character.

The Easiest and Toughest Von Erich to Cast in ‘Iron Claw’
Image via A24

One thing I love about all of your films is the casting is absolutely exceptional. Of all the main roles in this movie, which was the easiest to fill where the right person just magically came to you, but then also, what was the most difficult role to cast where finding the perfect fit for that character took some real leg work to find the right actor?

DURKIN: I would say the first person who was just a clear fit was Holt McCallany for Fritz. I saw him on Mindhunter and he was probably the first person I was like, “He has to be Fritz. That’s it.” So that was the first part. Casting Stanley as Mike, that was a casting process. We were looking for a discovery there, trying to find someone who hadn’t done anything or much before, and so we really wanted to have a discovery in that role. So that was just a bit more digging, but once we saw him it was just clear that he was the one.

You’ve got Lizzie [Olsen], Carrie Coon and now Zac – what is something you look for in a lead actor when casting that role that signals to you, “This person won’t just nail the character I’m about to hand them, but they’re also going to be a good collaborator for me and the team I surround myself with?”

DURKIN: Just conversation. You sit and you talk to someone and you sort of know immediately, energy-wise, how they communicate and how they’re going to fit in. And look, so much of what we do in directing is instinct. I just operate so much on instinct and just getting a feeling and following it.

Image via A24

Can you give me an example of a time when that instinct came into play on set, where your approach to a particular scene shifted in the moment because your instinct told you to roll with something that was happening that you didn’t plan for?

DURKIN: Great question. I think in the wrestling because we had a very short prep time and the guys really trained and they learned how to wrestle and we choreographed the matches, but also you can’t perfectly choreograph the matches with the camera moves, for instance. And we’re trying to shoot full matches from top to bottom so on the day you’d have very limited time because you could only do it so many times as well. So it’s like you’d do a match once and you’d see something happening and maybe we would make a quick choice to change. It was basically both shooting something that had been scripted and choreographed, but also live performance, and so it was really moving to always try and find the emotion or the best way to tap into Kevin’s experience.

Looking for more Iron Claw conversations? Check out my chat with Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Stanley Simons below:

The Iron Claw is now playing in theaters in the U.S. Click below for showtimes.

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