Yahoo News AEW's MJF lands role in Zac Efron's wrestling biopic
Note: The following article contains reference to suicide.
AEW's MJF has landed his first Hollywood role, in a movie all about pro wrestling.
As announced by Deadline, Maxwell Jacob Friedman has been cast in The Iron Claw, A24's biopic of the Von Erich wrestling family.
Zac Efron leads the cast as Kevin Von Erich, with Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson playing his brothers Kerry and David. Holt McCallany and Maura Tierney will play father Fritz Von Erich and his wife Doris, while Lily James has been cast in an as-yet-undisclosed role.
There's no word yet on who MJF will play in the film.
The Iron Claw will follow the rise and fall of the Von Erich family who were lead by patriarch Fritz, who was a wrestler in the 1960s before becoming a promoter.
Fritz and Doris had six sons, with five of them passing away before Fritz's death in 1997.
Son Jack tragically died aged six in 1959, after he was accidentally shocked by an exposed wire and drowned in a puddle. The five remaining Von Erich boys all became wrestlers and worked for their father.
David died in 1984 from enteritis at the age of 25, while brothers Mike, Chris, and Kerry all died by suicide.
Related: Here's when AEW's MJF appeared on WWE TV
Earlier this week, A24 shared the first official shot of Efron in the movie, showing the actor as Kevin delivering a dropkick in the ring.
"Introducing The Golden Warrior himself. Zac Efron is Kevin Von Erich in #TheIronClaw," A24 captioned the tweet.
Meanwhile, MJF is set to challenge Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship at Full Gear on November 19.
Catch AEW Dynamite live every Thursday at 1am in the UK and Rampage every Saturday at 3am on FITE with an AEW Plus subscription. US customers can also watch Dynamite on TBS and Rampage on TNT, and in the UK, Dynamite repeats air on ITV4.
We would encourage anyone who identifies with the topics raised in this article to reach out. Organisations who can offer support include Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org) or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to visit mentalhealth.gov or the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
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