Los Angeles, Feb 11 (IANS): Actor Zac Efron's dance experience helped him prepare for his role as a wrestler in 'The Iron Claw'.

The 36-year-old actor shot to fame when he played Troy Bolton in the Disney Channel hit 'High School Musical' before starring as Link Larkin in the film adaptation of Broadway musical 'Hairspray' and admitted that his experience turned out to be of use when he was learning to wrestle for his part as Kevin Von Erich in the new biopic, reports Female First UK.

He told HeyUGuys: "Dancing helped, for sure. There was no way to get into wrestling other than just to start. All the guys, we committed from the very first day, from the very first lesson. We showed up, we dropped our egos at the door and just started to listen.”

He added: “We had a great coach and yeah, it was hard. Wrestling is no joke, I have a ton of respect for it and it is one of the most fun things that I have been able to learn to apply to a film. It pulls on every creative and physical part of your being. It's really fun.”

As per Female First UK, the '17 Again' star was then asked about the concept of "extreme misguided masculinity" within the story and explained that it was a really "interesting example" of how attitudes towards male mental health have changed since the 1980s when the film is set.

He said: "It's also fascinating because there's not really language at this point, it's now it sneaks up on you in the case of the Von Erichs. It's such a brilliant example of how it kind of works its way into successful careers and strong families and things like that. It really is a fascinating look at it.”