Zac Efron Belongs in the Best Actor Race For The Iron Claw

OK, this will feel a little uncomfortable for you. Potentially painful. But imagine—please, I really need you to do this—that I'm Troy from High School Musical. You're Gabriella. Gaze upon my bowl cut. Wildcats #14. That's me. The spotlights swivels to us; we're alone on East High School's auditorium stage. Everyone's watching. And this is "Breaking Free."

Take my hand.

Please.

There it is.

Let's sing it.

You know the world can see us
In a way that's different than who we are
Creating space between us 'til we're separate hearts
But your faith, it gives me strength
Strength to believe
.... that Zac Efron deserves a Best Actor nomination for The Iron Claw.

Gabriella/reader, I don't care how bad that was. It'll take some exposure therapy for you to get behind me on this one: Efron is really, really good in The Iron Claw, and he's not receiving nearly enough recognition for it. Let's rewind, just in case the last time you thought about Efron was the time you convinced yourself to watch Dirty Grandpa, and you regretted it as soon as Robert De Niro said, "We're gonna thunderfuck!" (The response to that quip—you didn't ask!—is, "You're gonna tsunami on my face.") Or any of Efron's other films from the 2010s where he's finding his post-Disney footing: Baywatch, Neighbors, We Are Your Friends, what have you.

Last year, director Sean Durkin tapped Efron as the lead in The Iron Claw, which would recount the story of the real-life Von Erich wrestling family. If you're unfamiliar with the story, it's a gutting one. Various members of the Von Erich clan rose to wrestling-world prominence in the '80s and '90s, but nearly all eventually died by tragic means. Among the family's five brothers—Kerry, Fritz, Kevin, Chris, Mike, and David—only Kevin is alive today. In the A24-produced film, in UK cinemas from 4 February, Efron plays Kevin, the second-eldest brother. He's flanked by Jeremy Allen White's Kerry and Harris Dickinson's David; Holt McCallany and Lily James also star as the Von Erich patriarch and Kevin's wife, respectively.

While the supporting cast (especially McCallany as the family's trauma-wreaking father) is undeniably stellar, they pop in and out of The Iron Claw's proverbial (and literal) ring. Only Efron is a constant fixture throughout the film, and he delivers a performance that downright burns. In the beginning, when the The Iron Claw feels more like dudes bein' dudes in the '80s! (Top Gun) than scary-sports-prestige (Foxcatcher), Efron quietly flashes the naïveté of the action hero-looking Kevin. He wants a heavyweight belt! He loves his brother! And that's... about it. It's all his father taught him. In wrestling promos, he's too nervous to string together a full sentence, and he can't even tell when a woman is flirting with him.

By the time Act Two comes around and what the film coins as "The Von Erich Curse" strikes, Efron could go full Oscar Reel. Cry, scream, use his newly gained physicality. (The actor reportedly gained 15 pounds of muscle for the role.) He doesn't. Efron goes further inward. At a funeral for one of the Von Erich brothers, Efron depicts Kevin as steely, unblinking, and damn near matter-of-fact about the loss. It's similar to Charles Melton's much-praised turn in May December, where—understanding his character's level of childhood trauma and years of repressed emotion—he just kind of stumbles around, silently begging for help. It's impressive restraint from Efron. I'll save the details and let you experience the moment he pours it all out at exactly the right (and most punishing) time for yourself.

Zac Efron, Academy Award nominee? Bet on it.

And yet! So far, he's been snubbed in the Best Actor category from all major awards collectives, including the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. Most awards-season pundits have Efron on the outside looking in on the race, with some assembly of Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Leonardo DiCaprio (Killers of the Flower Moon), Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers), Colman Domingo (Rustin) and Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) ahead of him. Barring a last-second surge, the Academy Awards will likely shut him out, too.

I've gotta say: I know all sorts of politics go into who takes home these trophies, but it simply feels like voters haven't divorced Efron from their perception of him as De Niro's Dirty Grandpa banter buddy. Robert Pattinson shed his Twilight fangs, Selena Gomez is a multiple-time Golden Globe nominee, and Zendaya is considered one of the best actresses of her generation. Voters need to let Efron break free of the first titles that introduced him! In The Iron Claw, he checks every give-him-the-Oscar box: physical transformation, pitch-perfect turn as a real-life figure, and an incredibly humane performance. Notably, The Iron Claw—and Efron—repeatedly resists the urge to sensationalise the family's story. It aches for each brother, especially in another third-act scene.

Back when Jonathan Majors's Magazine Dreams premiered at Sundance (long before he was found guilty of assault and harassment this week), critics were practically handing him every statue for his uber-physical, sports-world performance. And it feels more like the Academy would rather praise Cooper's acting-directing feat and heavy use of black-and-white aesthetic than send up the best five turns of the year. (For what it's worth, my top five, in order: Giamatti, DiCaprio, Wright, Murphy, Efron.)

Snubs and misses happen, sure—but it feels like there's a disconnect between what's on screen and what's gaining traction in the Oscars race this year. Voters, critics, readers, all I'm asking is for you to see what I'm seeing: a career-changing performance.