Anish Vij
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
The Iron Claw director decided to completely leave out one brother from the movie and fans of the famous wrestling family definitely noticed.
The A24 drama follows the infamous Von Erich brothers - Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), Kevin (Zac Efron), David (Harris Dickinson) and Mike (Simon Stanley) - who took the wrestling world by storm in the '70s and '80s.
Sadly, the family was struck by tragedy multiple times as all but one of the brothers died.
Under the control of forceful father and coach Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany), each of the brothers - apart from Jack Von Erich, who died at the age of six - stepped foot into the ring.
Advert
But all of the siblings suffered under heartbreaking circumstances, David was to pass away from illness, while Kerry and Mike both tragically died by suicide.
Controversially, youngest brother Chris Von Erich was not included in the film, despite also having a small stint in pro wresting.
He also fell into a deep depression following Mike's death.
Chris died by suicide in 1991, aged just 21.
Advert
As footage of his time in wrestling has resurfaced on social media, viewers were disappointed not to see him feature in the movie.
"He gave 110 percent that he could and wasn’t even mentioned in the movie. It definitely bothers me, but I’m separating the movie from real life. Chris deserves his flowers," one person commented.
Another wrote: "This is the saddest Von Erich tragedy. This poor kid was never an athlete, his bones were brittle and he was small, and he blindly idolised his older brothers, enabled by his awful father. If he never got into a wrestling ring, he’d still be alive today."
Director Sean Durkin has explained why Chris was not included in The Iron Claw, telling Entertainment Weekly: "That was one of the toughest decisions I had to make.
Advert
"You could make nine hours of The Godfather on this family. I didn't have that opportunity, so I had to make choices of what could fit in a movie."
"He and his younger brother Chris were both the younger brothers of these three huge, larger-than-life characters," actor Stanley added.
"I thought that dynamic was interesting. You can see it in the videos you watch of him: He's obviously super supportive, and wrestling was such a big part of his life.
"But he also took the brunt of David's passing and was shoehorned into [wrestling] by his father, a little bit."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.