Thrillbilly Silas to Play Terry Gordy in ‘The Iron Claw’

There’s something about the silver screen that draws wrestlers to it, and Thrillbilly Silas Mason appears to be no exception.

Taking to Twitter today, Silas revealed that the “bag was out of the cat” and that he will be starring in the upcoming Von Erich’s biopic, ‘The Iron Claw’.

The film, from hip production company A24, is directed by Sean Durkin and is set to star Zac Efron as Kevin Von Erich, a part Efron seems to be taking seriously if the photos of his newly ripped physique are to be believed.

‘The Iron Claw’ is pretty damn cool for several reasons. It is the first proper wrestling biopic that I can think of for the silver screen, possibly capitalising on the success of Dark Side of the Ring. Hopefully, this could lead to other wrestling legends being immortalised on the big screen, bringing them to a wider audience. It’s particularly cool here as the Von Erichs and their father’s promotion, World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas, are a major part of wrestling history and, for all the tragedy that struck the Von Erich family, they are responsible for some of the greatest moments in wrestling, with peak World Class being one of the hottest promotions you’ll ever see.

Thrillbilly Silas has not only got himself a part on the film, but he has landed himself a major role. Because you can’t talk about The Von Erichs without talking about their perennial enemies: The Fabulous Freebirds. One of the greatest teams/stables of all time, the Freebirds ignited one of the most heated feuds in wrestling history when they slammed a steel cage door on Kerry Von Erich’s head during a Christmas night 1982 NWA title match against Ric Flair. The move caused a near-riot and the resulting feud between the Von Erichs and Freebirds drew major box office money for several years.

As luck would have it, Silas gets to play the man responsible for swinging that cage door at Kerry’s head: the late Terry ‘Bam Bam’ Gordy. Gordy was one of the best ‘big man’ wrestlers of all time and not only had a legendary pairing with the Freebirds but also as part of the Miracle Violence Connection with ‘Dr Death’ Steve Williams, the pair being former NWA World Tag Team Champions in 1992.

Playing Gordy is going to mean that Silas will take part in at least one pivotal scene in the film, which is pretty damn cool for him. I’ve said for a while that the guy looks physically like a cross between Terry Gordy and Dick Slater, which means he is perfectly cast for the role. And he’s definitely got the charisma to pull off a good acting performance.

Silas is not the only wrestler to appear in the film, with another NWA talent Brady Piece playing Michael Hayes, Chavo Guerrero Jr playing The Sheik, Ryan Nemeth playing Gino Hernandez and most intriguingly, everyone’s favourite heel MJF playing Lance Von Erich, which is curious, to say the least.

‘The Iron Claw‘ does not have a release date as of yet but is set to be released in 2023.