Zac Efron debuts extreme new look for upcoming film

Zac Efron has undergone another drastic transformation for an upcoming film, looking extremely beefed-up with a bowl cut and deep tan.

Zac Efron has been hitting the gym for an upcoming role, popping up in photos rocking an incredibly ripped physique and striking brown bowl cut.

The High School Musical star, 35, is set to portray famed 1960s wrestler Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw, a film which will follow the tragedies of the Von Erich family and the lasting impact they had on the wrestling world.

Efron, who recently opened up about shattering his jaw amid plastic surgery rumours, was pictured wandering around set in Louisiana wearing nothing but a small blue towel and slides, his bulging muscles on display.

Stream more entertainment news live & on demand with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free.Offer available for a limited time only >

Efron has undergone a dramatic transformation for the role. Picture: Mega Agency.

The film follows the tragic true story of the Von Erich family. Picture: Mega Agency.

But the photos have been the source of some concern from fans given Efron’s recent revelations about the impact of extreme dieting for film roles.

Last month, the Gold actor revealed he fell into a deep depression and began to suffer from insomnia while training for his 2017 film, Baywatch.

He told Men’s Health: “That Baywatch look, I don’t know if that’s really attainable.

“There’s just too little water in the skin. Like, it’s fake; it looks CGI’d.”

Efron in 2014’s Bad Neighbours.

Efron’s face underwent noticable changes after he broke his jaw. Source: Supplied

Efron admitted he took Lasix, a diuretic, to help achieve his ripped look in the film, revealing it eventually took a toll on his mental health.

“I started to develop insomnia and I fell into a pretty bad depression, for a long time. Something about that experience burned me out.

“I had a really hard time recentering. Ultimately they chalked it up to taking way too many diuretics for way too long, and it messed something up.”

Kevin Von Erich. Picture: Kevin Von Erich/Facebook.

Efron certainly looks the part. Picture: Mega Agency.

In previous interviews, Efron said he completely cut out carbs for six months to shed the weight for Baywatch.

“I almost lost my mind. You need this. I still can’t get over how this diet of carbs and low protein is the exact opposite of any trainer has ever taught me,” he said.

Efron’s trainer for the film, Patrick Murphy, told Healthline: “Efron’s Baywatch movie training program involved an ever-changing approach, involving full-body workouts, two-day splits, three-day splits, power training, strength training, stability and balance training, lifeguard training, hiking, biking, obstacle course training, and more,’ his trainer Patrick Murphy said.

“Simply put, he ended up shredded.”

Efron has been dodging plastic surgery rumours for the past year, setting the record straight about his changing face in his Men’s Health interview.

The actor has been sporting a very different look over the past few months. Picture: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images.

The actor said he shattered his jaw after a horror accident while running in his house with socks on, explaining that he slipped, hit the corner of a fountain, passed out and woke up to his “chin bone … hanging off” his face, Page Six reports.

Amid the High School Musical star’s recovery, his facial muscles got “really, really big” to compensate for the injury, so he worked with a physical therapist to counteract their growth.

When Efron took a break in Australia, “the masseter [muscles] just grew,” the former Disney Channel star, who previously broke his jaw in 2013, explained with a shrug.

Fans first noticed Efron’s transformed face in April 2021, which led to rumours that he had gone under the knife.

The following month, his friend Kyle Sandilands denied Efron had work done.

“It’s like getting a Picasso and having a kid finger paint all over it,” Sandilands quipped on The Kyle and Jackie O radio show in May 2021. “Why bother? … I would know if he’d had any plastic surgery.”

Efron’s mother, Starla Baskett, was the one to clue her son into the plastic surgery speculation, as he chooses to remain off social media.

The 17 Again star did not appear fazed, telling Men’s Health: “If I valued what other people thought of me to the extent that they may think I do, I definitely wouldn’t be able to do this work.”

Efron said he woke up with his ‘chin bone hanging off’ after the fall. Picture: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images.

The star spoke out about his jaw last month. Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images.

Efron’s upcoming role in The Iron Claw tells the harrowing story of the Von Erich wrestling family, the patriarch of which, Fritz, real name Jack Adkisson, was a wrestler in the 50s and 60s and fathered six children.

Fritz burst onto the scene playing a Nazi on the circuit, but became known for his legendary finishing hold from which the film takes its name.

Many of his children followed him into the ring, but tragically, five of his six sons died young.

His first son, Jack Barton Adkisson, Jr., died aged six in 1959 after he was accidentally shocked unconscious by an exposed wire and drowned in a puddle.

Three of the Von Erich brothers. Picture: Kevin Von Erich/Facebook

Third son David died aged 25 of a suspected painkiller overdose during a wrestling tour.

Fourth son Kerry died by suicide aged 33 in 1993 – seven years after a motorcycle accident which caused his right foot to be amputated.

His fifth son Mike also died by suicide aged just 23 in 1987, while sixth son Chris took his own life in 1991 aged 21.

His only surviving son, Kevin Von Erich, who Efron plays in The Iron Claw, is now 65. His father Fritz died in 1997, aged 68.

Directed by Sean Durkin, The Iron Claw also stars Jeremy Allen White, Holt McCallany, Lily James and Maura Tierney.

Originally published as Zac Efron debuts extreme new look for upcoming film