Jeremy Allen White has praised Zac Efron for inspiring his co-stars on The Iron Claw “to do better”.

The biographical sports drama tells the true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made professional wrestling history in the early 1980s.

The Bear star admitted to Variety that he thought there would be “quiet competition” between the actors on set, not just on-screen, but the High School Musical actor was nothing but supportive.

“Zac would push us to do better scene work and was a cheerleader in a way that I didn’t really expect. He was consistently patting us on the back and picking us up,” he praised.

Elsewhere in the interview, Jeremy noted that he and his co-star Harris Dickinson had a different approach to Zac in regards to maintaining their ripped wrestler bodies.

“Harris and I – we got dinner every once in a while, or we allowed ourselves a little bit of life outside of work during that time,” Jeremy recalled. “And I’m not so sure about Zac. He was kind of a machine during that time.”

He continued, “I do think that these men probably felt like machines in some game constructed by their father. I don’t know how far away Zac got from (his character) Kevin during the entirety of the filming process, but if I had to guess, I don’t think he ever drifted too far away from character.”

The Greatest Showman actor added that he tried not to take the job too seriously.

“We’re supposed to be having fun. I have to remind myself that this should be fun above all else,” he told the outlet. “If being a perfectionist is going to be the thorn in my side from this point on… it’s like, jeez – life is way too short.”

The Iron Claw is in U.S. cinemas now.

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