The Iron Claw movie is running successfully in theatres. One of the actors in the film is Aaron Dean Eisenberg. He portrayed WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair.
During a recent interview with the Man Cave Chronicles, Eisenberg shared his experience playing Ric Flair. The actor also mentioned that he got a lot of love and a lot of hate for playing the character of The Nature Boy.
“It’s been interesting. I feel Flair is definitely an idol for some people, so they really hold him in high regard and sort of expect a certain thing for him. I’ve gotten a lot of love, but also a lot of hate, which is very new for me. It’s certainly a polarizing performance.” [H/T Fightful.com]
What did Aaron Dean Eisenberg think when he read the script to play Ric Flair?
While speaking, Eisenberg revealed that initially, he felt that while the script seemed to be less, he had a lot of work to do.
“When I read the script, my first thought was, ‘this is a hell of a lot of work for not a ton on the page. I’m going to have to put on a lot of weight in a short amount of time, and I’m going to have to study a lot for not that much.’ I did some research on Flair, I watched a bunch of his promos, and I jumped on the phone with Sean. I said, ‘I know this is your baby.
“You’ve been trying to get this made for ten years. Feel free to tell me to f*** off, but I have an idea that would make this role feel more worthwhile.’ ‘What is it?’ I’ve watched a bunch of this guy’s promos, maybe we could throw a promo in there.’ He was open to the idea. I gathered a bunch of links, I sent him a bunch of links to late 70s, early 80s promos, and he fell in love with it. He ended up incorporating that into the film. It’s cool because he added other promos to the film,” said Aaron.
Aaron Dean Eisenberg shares how he approached the character of Ric Flair
Eisenberg had a plan on how to play the role of the 16-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
“My first initial thought, which I stuck with and Sean agreed with, we weren’t going to go for an impersonation. I just felt like there was so much out there on the internet impersonating him in a really great way. It didn’t feel like a mimicry of him would fit into that moment of the film and into that world of the film.
“My approach was, how do I get down this guy’s essence and his energy and understand him and what he’s doing, in and out of the ring? Just figure out his energy and reasons for things. Stay away from doing any kind of impression. A lot of it, for me, was about the stakes for the Von Erichs because of their relationship to their father and what it meant to the family to get this belt. It felt like the stakes were so high for them, that my take on it became a more serious thing than Flair was in real life. It was a darker take on him.”
What was your reaction to Eisenberg’s portrayal of Ric Flair?
