Holt McCallany Weighs In On The Similarities Between Acting & Pro Wrestling

The Iron Claw co-star Holt McCallany recently discussed the similarities between actors and professional wrestlers. McCallany plays Fritz Von Erich in the film, and during a conversation with Wrestling Inc about the film he was asked about the similarities between the two industries. You can check out the highlights below:

On the skills needed in wrestling: “If you’re going to be a star in the world of professional wrestling, it’s not just athleticism and technique and endurance. You absolutely have to have those things, but it’s also charisma and personality and the ability to create a character that’s going to capture the imagination of the wrestling fans. They call professional wrestling sports entertainment, and the entertainment component of that is crucially important. There are some tremendously talented college wrestlers, Division I wrestlers, Olympic wrestlers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they can come and be a star in the WWE because much of it is performative.”

On the similarities between acting and pro wrestling: “You have to be able to create a character, and you have to be able to go out there and play that character for the fans. And in that sense, there are some very real similarities between what they do and what we do. And in fact, I’ll even go further. I would say that if you had to make me choose and say, “Are they closer to actors, or are they closer to athletes?” — because they’re both — I would say at the end of the day, they’re closer to actors. Because if you don’t have that ability to create a character that people are going to respond to, you are not going to become a star in the world of professional wrestling.”

The Iron Claw is currently in theaters.