On finding empathy for Fritz Von Erich and the scenes left on the cutting-room floor.
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This interview was originally published on December 22, 2023.
We are recirculating it now timed toThe Iron Clawsdigital release.
For nearly his entire four-decade career, Holt McCallany has been playing guys you dont want to cross.
But more important is his bearing, his ability to project comfort with other peoples discomfort.
How did the role of Fritz Von Erich come to you?
And its a real simple thing.
My mother was a singer.
Id say, How do you choose your material, Mom?
What songs are gonna make it into the act?
What songs are justnotgonna be part of your act?
And she said, Holt, you have to be chemically attracted to a song.
I thought about that, and theres a similarity for an actor choosing a role.
No actor is right for every part.
If you think youre right for every part, youre dreaming, you know?
There has to be something within yourself that corresponds to the character.
That doesnt mean that youre him and hes you.
But theres gotta be something that it’s possible for you to identify and say, Ah!
And I said to Sean Durkin, I want to put any fears that you have to rest.
You found the right actor and youre going to be happy with the performance that I deliver to you.
I can promise you that.
And I think that it worked out that way.
Sean and I had a great experience on the set.
Im a big fan of his.
I expressed that to Sean.
But the movie is nevertheless a very good movie.
Youve played figures of authority before.
Youve played father figures before.
They were men of the same generation.
He was an actor who became a producer on Broadway.
He was all over the English-speaking world as a theatrical producer.
Fritz was a family man.
Fritz was a Texan.
He found a way to make his own sons the stars of his organization.
Which could be a simplistic way of looking at a controlling-but-loving father figure.
I was curious how you felt about the way he expresses that love.I respect the man himself.
Hes a legend in the sport of wrestling.
I dont question the man in terms of, Did he really love his family?
Did he really take pride in his sons?
Was he really devoted to his wife?
Was he a genuinely religious man?
I believe all of those things are true.
But who among us havent made some bad decisions?
He goes, Yes, he was controlling, but it came from a place of love.
Did you see that move?
Look at Kerry up there.
Hes a superstar, if ever there was one.
His sons success was his success.
Everything they accomplished he took not only pride, but it made him happy.
And it made him believe in this extraordinary and unlikely thing, where these young guys became so beloved.
The Christianshad never bought professional wrestling!
But that people would venture to suggest that he was somehow supplying wrestlers withillicit substancesI think is absolutely preposterous.
Fritz was born in the 20s.
He never did cocaine in his life.
Now, covering up for his sons if they got in trouble?
We dont want that.
But Fritz was not a juicer.
He wanted the boys in the gym.
This game is no joke.
People want to say its fake.
Go try it, and see how fake it feels to you after a 15-minute match.
It is sports entertainment.
What unlocked my empathy for Fritz is remembering he has already lost a child when the film begins.
Its just like a tragic parade, you know?
He fell unconscious and drowned in a little puddle of water.
Just the worst possible luck that you could ever, ever imagine.
And I think it really affected Fritz, but he did manage to recover from that.
And trust me, once one of Fritzs sons had the belt, he intended to keep it.
And they never quite got it back.
You mentioned your wrestling training for this film.
It got a very positive reaction from the critics, and I knew thatJohn Landgrafwas really behind the show.
I love the show.
I love you in the show.
But I cant renew the show, that was devastating for me.
But theres also a wrestling club at Gleasons.
They have their own ring and none of the boxers are allowed to go in.
He even wrestled Kevin Von Erich in Madison Square Garden.
And he went, The Iron Claw!
He goes, First thing to do is wipe that smile off your face.
Because when Fritz got in the ring, Fritz was a heel.
How the Iron Claw maneuver actually looks is very important in the film.
Tyson is a seek-and-destroy kind of a guy.
Whereas Floyd is the ultimate technician.
Hes gonna wait for you to make a mistake and then make you pay for that mistake.
So what youre asking is, what is the in-ring identity of Fritz Von Erich?
Im playing a very specific professional wrestler who had a very specific ring demeanor.
Fritz began his career in the 50s and was a heel.
He used to impersonate a Nazi; I know that sounds the way that it sounds.
But there was a tremendous amount of anti-German sentiment in our country after the war.
So may I say?
Sure, yeah.Shomah khali khoshkeli.
Oh, thank you.
Thats so nice!Thats the only thing I know how to say in Farsi.
But sadly, the only one that really sticks in my memory is Shomah khali khoshkeli.
That ones gonna get you far, though.Thank you.
Its a good one.
So we were talking about Fritzs heel identity …Right.
The claw was an innovation.
This is a finishing move.
And what do you do?
Well, you go to wrestling school and you ask Johnny Rodz if hell teach you.
Then you try and watch as many of Fritzs old matches as you could.
A lot of people dont appreciate that theres a tremendous amount of technique in professional wrestling.
You either know it or you dont.
And if you dont, somebodys getting injured.
Now, wrestle Adam.
Now, wrestle Teddy.
Now, wrestle Ivan.
Now, wrestle Christian.
Again, again, again, again.
And not only that be Fritz Von Erich, the master of the Iron Claw.
It was every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night.
I must give credit to the other wrestlers.
These are all guys that are going to wrestle in the WWE.
But they defer to Johnny.
I would bring in a camera crew, we would shoot my matches, then we would screen them.
He would then break them down: This is what youre doing wrong here.
This is what youre doing wrong here.
He said, I cant believe they found an actor to play Fritz.
I thought it was impossible, but they found him.
And I thought, You know what?
That means more than anything any critic could say, because he knew Fritz.
My one regret was that I never got to meet Fritz.
He died in 1997.
Im gonna play you in a movie, sir.
The only guy that ever turned down an interview with me was David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam.
Because youcant trust serial killers.
But everybody else has always said yes, even if youre not playing them.
In the original script, there were some scenes where Fritz is dying.
But thats what you want to do.
It took more time and more preparation for that part of the shoot than for any other part.
When Fritz began his wrestling career in the 1950s, he was in tremendous physical condition.
But then later on, in the 70s and 80s, he put on a lot of weight.
I think his last wrestling match might have been in 1982.
I was talking to her about this issue and she came up with the idea of a prosthetic belly.
Do you personally have any secret skills or hobbies that we would be surprised by?Well, two.
I grew up with a particular kind of music, and some people will say its old hat.
I dont buy it.
But its Cole Porter and Harold Arlen and its George Gershwin and its Stephen Sondheim.
Im a crooner, and I dont get asked often to sing.
But when I do get asked, I always accept.
I think there will be more French movies in my future.
I sang in one film,Gangster Squad, with Sean Penn, and the singing got cut out.
I was a hit man.
I thought,Thats a hit, man.
I thought that would be funny and unexpected.
Director Ruben Fleischer indulged me a little bit when we were shooting.
But sadly, in the cut, there was no evidence of my sparkling singing voice.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
