The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White Is Getting Ripped For His Next Role
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Jeremy Allen White, best known for the Showtime dark comedy series Shameless and the FX drama The Bear, is suiting up as wrestler Kerry Von Erich in the upcoming Zac Efron biopic, The Iron Claw. The movie is about the multi-generational Von Erich family of professional wrestlers, so the actors playing them need to be bulky to slip into the roles. For his part, Jeremy Allen White is planning on bulking up by 40 pounds, according to a GQ interview.
The actor is best known for playing Phillip “Lip” Gallagher in Showtime’s Shameless, and is still recognized by fans for that role wherever he goes. However, it was FX’s The Bear that really introduced him to the industry, drawing celebrity fans in circles that include Kathryn Bigelow and Dustin Hoffman. After his portrayal of a gifted chef who returns home to run a sandwich shop for his family, Jeremy Allen White skyrocketed into high demand among casting agents.
A24 is producing The Iron Claw, adding to its expanding library of well-made films of all genres. For Jeremy Allen White, this is one of the marks that he’s come into his own as an actor. In the interview, he expressed his amazement that the studio would come to him.
Jeremy Allen White will play Kerry Von Erich, one of the troubled sons of Jack Adkisson, better known by his ring name, Fritz Von Erich. Kerry and some of his brothers were championship wrestlers in the World Wrestling Federation, but tragically, was one of three of Fritz’s children that the patriarch outlived. Kerry Von Erich died of a gunshot wound to the chest in 1993.
The actor compares his role in The Iron Claw as being similar to his role in The Bear, noting that the troubled chef and the tortured wrestler both felt like they aren’t in control of their own destiny. In addition to Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White, it will also star Harris Dickerson, Lily James, Maura Tierney, and Holt McCallany. Zac Efron will be playing Kevin Von Erich, Fritz’s only surviving son.
As he started preparing for the role, Jeremy Allen White received a note from Zac Efron with the advice that he “Get training, eat, keep doing what you’re doing, stay hard.” Zac Efron has been a superstar since rising to popularity after Disney’s High School Musical movies, building a career that shows he’s not just a “Disney kid.” He himself has worked with several high-profile talents, such as Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman and Dwayne Johnson in Baywatch.
While it would seem natural for two actors playing brothers to correspond with each other, the note is another positive sign for the career of Jeremy Allen White. In the same way that Zac Efron built his own status as a leading man through appearances with other strong actors, the Shameless star is building his own resume along with his physique. Most people currently recognize him as “Lip,” but at his trajectory, it won’t be long before the smoldering actor makes his own mark in the industry.
