MJF recently shared that one of his biggest scenes in the 2023 wrestling movie The Iron Claw did not make it to the final version.
The AEW World Champion played Lance Von Erich in the film, a wrestler who earned his stripes as part of the famous Von Erich family, even though he wasn’t really related to them. MJF appeared in the movie and worked as an executive producer. However, fans didn’t know that he had filmed a major dialogue scene that didn’t make it into theaters.
MJF Asserts That His Scene Not Making It to the Final Cut Did Not Upset Him
Speaking on Chris Van Vliet’s podcast, MJF explained that he had shot a five-minute dialogue scene along with Zac Efron. He said he and Efron became close while working on the film.
“I had a five-minute talking scene with Zac Efron, who I became really tight with on set, and I would hang out with him in the trailer. He was the nicest guy. When I brought my belt onto the set, he was like, let’s take a photo, which was hilarious.”
MJF also praised Efron’s dedication to the role. He said Efron trained so hard to look and move like a real wrestler that he actually developed rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo). Rhabdomyolysis emerges as a serious muscle injury caused by overtraining.
“His work ethic was insane. He got rhabdo on set because he was working out so hard and hitting the rope so hard and wrestling so frequently,” MJF said.
Even though they put a lot of effort into the dialogue scene, it didn’t make the final cut. However, MJF said he did not feel disappointed with the decision.
“As an EP [executive producer], I wasn’t even upset, and I know no one’s gonna believe me, but this is the honest-to-God truth,” he said. “I just wanted the movie to be true to the Von Erich story, because I’m a huge World Class fan.”
MJF further explained that the director called to tell him about the scene’s removal. The movie’s already long duration and the scene not supporting the main story cemented the decision.
“When I got the call from the director, who’s a mensch, by the way, he was like, ‘Max, I’m so sorry…’ I’m like, Dude, this movie is too long, and this scene, while incredibly entertaining, does not help the length, and also is like a sub story. It’s not part of the A story. So I wasn’t upset at all, and I would like to think the movie came out pretty damn well, and I was really proud to have my name on it,” MJF said.
With roles in Happy Gilmore 2 and the upcoming Violent Night 2, MJF’s acting career is growing well, even if one of his favorite scenes never made it onto the big screen.
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