Zac Efron stopped by the TODAY studio to talk about his new movie "The Iron Claw," and he did so in style.
Efron sported sunglasses while speaking to TODAY's Craig Melvin, but it wasn't to complete his look — it was to cover up an eye infection.
"I'm sorry, man. I feel weird being in shades," Efron said. "I just have a bit of an eye infection, but I really wanted to be here. It's such a good movie, and I wanted to come see you guys and tell everyone about it."
The actor, joined by castmates Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson and Stanley Simmons, discussed the true story behind "The Iron Claw," a film based on the wrestling legacy of the Von Erich family.
"It really is a crazy true story," Efron said of the family that came to prominence in wrestling in the 1980s.
Efron and his castmates had to undergo significant physical transformations to play the bulky wrestling brothers — in addition to packing on muscles, Efron rocked a bowl cut, while his co-stars grew out their hair.
White laughed as he told Craig his transformation took "a lot of eating, a lot of lifting heavy things."
"These guys, they were big men and we were trying to catch up," he added. "So the physical preparations, it was intense, but it really paid off."
Efron said wearing the 1980s-inspired ring costumes was one of the uncomfortable parts of filming, but that he and his co-stars were committed to portraying the Von Erich brothers accurately.
"When you hear you're playing a professional wrestler, the hairs on the back your neck go up a little bit. You're kind of vulnerable up there in the ring," he said. "I know how I was feeling when I got out there in my underwear and was in front of the audience for the first time."
But it wasn't just the physical transformation that took a toll, White said.
"The tragedy and brutality that fell upon this family. It's, it's really it's unbelievable," he said. "I think we tried to highlight to the celebration and the love and the bond between these brothers."
"The Iron Claw" premieres in theaters on Dec. 22.
