Zac Efron is an American film actor and singer. He showed musical and acting talents already in childhood, but in his teenage years he almost became a victim of alcohol and drugs. How he managed to overcome temptations and what roles he lost because of them.
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This and much more from the biography, career and personal life of Zac Efron.
Zac Efron - biography
An ordinary family
Zacardi David Alexander Efron (this name is written in the actor’s passport) was born on October 18, 1987 in the Californian town of San Luis Obispo.
His parents worked at the local power plant: his mother was a secretary, his father held an engineering position.
Zach has a brother, he is four years younger than him. Subsequently, the Efron family moved to the city of Arroiro Grande, located a couple of hours drive from Hollywood.
Since childhood, he has been involved in music and acting.
In his childhood, Efron was fond of sports and did not think about a film career. But besides sports, he liked music, in particular singing, and his parents enrolled him in one of the music schools opened in their city at the theater college.
Efron first appeared on stage in preschool age; later he repeatedly took part in school plays and school amateur performances, which prompted him to enroll in a drama club. Soon Zach began to receive leading roles in amateur theater productions, and by the age of fifteen he combined schooling with filming on television. By graduation, Efron had accumulated quite a lot of baggage from theatrical roles, plus filming in a television show and participating in the creation of several television films.
Zac Efron - career
Start of a film career
Already at the age of fifteen, Zach and his mother began to actively participate in castings and screen tests.
Soon he received his first roles, they were episodes in the famous TV series: “ER”, “CSI: Miami” and “Firefly”.
Then the aspiring actor began filming in the television series “Eternal Summer”, where his initially minor role turned into a leading one - by the beginning of the second season, Zach’s character becomes the main character of this serial television film.
By that time, Efron had finished school and entered the University of Southern California, now finally moving to Los Angeles.
The arrival of popularity
In 2005, Efron had to drop out of university to star in the Disney television series High School Musical, which is a kind of modern interpretation of the story of Romeo and Juliet.
After the release of the series, the actor gained fame and popularity, acquiring a significant army of fans in the USA and other countries.
In 2007, the creators of the film filmed its sequel, after which the third part of the film was released, which fully paid for itself at the box office and brought Efron a fee of two million dollars. Thus, the role of basketball player Troy became a breakthrough and turning point in his career for the artist.
When dubbing the film into Russian, the songs performed in the musical by Efron were sung by Sergei Lazarev.
Best roles
Subsequently, Zach was cast in the leading role in the highly successful full-length adaptation of the Broadway production, the musical Hairspray. For his participation in it, he received the MTV Movie Awards, and his colleagues on the set were Michelle Pfeiffer and John Travolta (biography of the actor).
After the film's release, Efron finally established himself as not just a promising, but a completely serious young artist.
Subsequently, the actor received many interesting offers, starring in the films “The Paperboy,” “That Awkward Moment,” “Dad Is 17 Again,” “Lucky,” “Neighbors” and other films, which allowed him to become the owner of a very impressive collection by the age of thirty roles.
TOP 10: Facts about Zac Efron that you probably didn't know
Zac Efron won the love of millions of young fans after starring as Troy Bolton in the hit franchise. Since then, he has played other roles that showcase his musicality (such as Hairspray and The Greatest Showman).
The actor also starred in the comedies Neighbors, Baywatch and That Awkward Moment. He currently plays real-life American serial killer Ted Bundy in The Beautiful, the Bad and the Ugly.
Efron gives fans a glimpse into her life through her Instagram and Twitter accounts (which have a combined total of over 51 million followers), but there's something else fans might not know. Here are 10 facts about Efron you probably didn't know.
1. He had a crush on Tyra Banks as a child and hung her photo on his bedroom wall.
Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
For several years, Tyra Banks had her own talk show.
"I stole my mom's Victoria's Secret magazine, tore off a page and hung it on the wall," Efron told Ellen DeGeneres on her show. - I feel so ashamed".
2. Taylor Swift taught Efron to play guitar
Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Taylor Swift and Zac Efron starred in the 2012 animated film The Lorax.
The Lorax stars showed off their skills on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2012 with an impromptu version of Foster The People's "Pumped Up Kicks" that included lyrics about the show's host. “Taylor gave me my first guitar lesson,” Efron explained.” "He's really good at it, given just one lesson," the singer added. - It's really cool".
3. He is a big fan of the show Stranger Things and wishes he could be invited to it.
Photo: Zac Efron/Instagram
The Stranger Things kids said they were Zac Efron fans during their HSM days.
In one interview, Efron raved about the Netflix show and especially Millie Bobby Brown's performance as Eleven. After meeting the young star at the 2020 MTV Movie and TV Awards and presenting her with the award for best actress in a series, Efron admitted that he dreams of such an experience.
4. If Efron hadn't become an actor, he probably would have become a chef.
Photo: Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images
Priyanka Chopra and Zac Efron cooked on the Despierta America show.
After answering 73 questions from Vogue, the actor revealed his alternative talent. Efron is so passionate about food that he was invited to host and produce a food and travel documentary for MTV.
5. Favorite TV series that he can watch without interruption is “Game of Thrones”
Photo: Zac Efron/Instagram
Game of Thrones stars Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington.
Like many celebrities, Efron is obsessed with sitting and being photographed on the Iron Throne, which proves his passion.
6. He rode a wild tiger shark in Hawaii
Photo: Noel Vasquez/Getty Images for Nautica Malibu Triathlon
In 2020, Zac Efron competed in a triathlon.
Considering the star has skydived before, it's no surprise that he enjoys risky outdoor activities. While filming the comedy The Wedding Frenzy in Hawaii, Efron and his partner Adam Devine went shark diving with the professionals.
During an appearance on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Efron explained that they went diving at 4:30 in the morning and there were a lot of sharks in the water. He wasn't too worried until he noticed that some of them immediately swam away, indicating that there was a larger predator nearby.
The actor continued that a 4-meter tiger shark swam right at him. “I held my breath, crossed my arms and let the shark know I wasn’t prey,” Efron told Fallon. “I looked her straight in the eye—I’m not kidding.” As the shark swam past him, Efron suddenly decided to grab it by the fin and swim "all the way to the boat" where everyone else was hiding.
7. He has an album of Celine Dion's greatest hits.
Photo: Getty Images
Celine Dion is a singer who has won many awards.
Efron told Vogue that he has her other albums.
8. Efron broke his arm while filming a fight scene with Seth Rogen in Neighbors
Photo: Universal Pictures
In the film Neighbors, Zac Efron played Teddy Sanders.
“We got to the middle of the fight scene where he pushes me into the fireplace and I hit my head and I freak out,” Efron said. “At some point I hit my hand hard against the wall or the floor, I can’t remember, but I immediately realized that I had broken it.
Instead of stopping filming and checking on his hand, he continued filming, which he said "made the situation worse." When he finally got to the hospital, they placed a metal plate in his arm.
9. He once joined the Tinder platform, but no one reacted
Photo: Brendon Thorne/Stringer/Getty Images
People didn't believe his profile was real.
According to the Times, Efron said, “It's amazing that when I joined Tinder, no one recognized me! They thought [my profile] was fake."
10. His biggest regret is not going to college.
Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Zac Efron graduated from California's Arroyo Grande High School.
In response to questions from Women's Health, Efron said he did not go to college. In fact, he was accepted into the University of Southern California, but he put his studies on hold because his career was taking off.
Personal life
Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens
The artist is known as a fickle, flighty self-lover, who over the years was in relationships with Teresa Palmer, Miley Cyrus (biography of a shocking girl), Taylor Swift (all about the singer’s personal life) and Ashley Tisdale.
Selena Gomez once confessed that she had warm feelings for him, which she actually had ten years ago.
In 2006, Efron began dating his High School Musical co-star Vanessa Hudgens, whom he met while auditioning for the film. This relationship was quite long and many believed that it would end in a wedding, but it all ended with the couple’s separation in 2010.
The actors separated quietly and without mutual insults, explaining the breakup by simple fatigue from each other.
Zac Efron and Sami Miro
After another breakup with an actress, this time with Michelle Rodriguez, Efron decided not to contact his colleagues anymore, and began dating an aspiring model, Sami Miro, unknown to a wide audience.
They did not advertise their relationship, but having been spotted together more than once in 2020, they officially admitted that they were a couple.
But already in 2020, Zach and Sami decided to break up, without explaining the reasons for the breakup. After this, there was a version in the media that Efron wanted to return to Vanessa Hudgens, but the actor denied all rumors about this, saying that his heart is now free.
According to him, it remains so even now.
Filmography[ | ]
| Year | Russian name | original name | Role | |
| 2002 | With | Firefly | Firefly | young Simon Tam |
| 2003 | f | The Big Wide World of Karl Laemka | The Big Wide World of Carl Laemke | Pete Lamke |
| 2003 | With | Ambulance | Emergency Room | Bobby Neville |
| 2004 | f | Triple play | Triple Play | Harry Fuller |
| 2004 | With | Defender | The Guardian | Luke Tomello |
| 2004 | f | Miraculous Escape | Miracle Run | Stephen Morgan |
| 2004—2005 | With | Eternal summer | Summerland | Cameron Bale |
| 2005 | With | CSI: Miami | CSI: Miami | Seth Dawson |
| 2005 | f | Derby horse | The Derby Stallion | Patrick McArdle |
| 2006 | f | If you lived here, you would be at home now | If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now | And |
| 2006 | With | NCIS: Special Branch | Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service | Danny |
| 2006 | f | Cool musical | High School Musical | Troy Bolton |
| 2006 | With | Everything is tip top, or the Life of Zach and and | The Suite Life of Zack and Cody | Trevor |
| 2006 | With | Robbery | Heist | pizza delivery guy |
| 2006 | ms | To replace | The Replacements | Davey Hankerhoff |
| 2007 | f | Hair fixation spray | Hairspray | Link Larkin |
| 2007 | f | High School Musical: Vacation | High School Musical 2 | Troy Bolton |
| 2008 | f | Me and Orson Welles | Me and Orson Welles[14] | Richard Samuels |
| 2008 | f | High School Musical: Prom | High School Musical 3: Senior Year | Troy Bolton |
| 2009 | f | Daddy is 17 again | 17 Again | Mike O'Donnell at 17 |
| 2010 | f | The Double Life of Charlie St. Cloud | Charlie St. Cloud | Charlie Sun Cloud |
| 2011 | f | old New Year | New Year's Eve | Floor |
| 2011 | f | Lucky | The Lucky One | Logan Thibault |
| 2012 | f | Newsboy | The Paperboy | Jack Jensen |
| 2012 | mf | Lorax | Dr. Seuss' The Lorax | Ted |
| 2012 | f | Humanitarian sciences | Liberal Arts | Nat |
| 2012 | f | At any cost | At Any Price | Dean Whipple |
| 2013 | f | Parkland | Parkland | Jim Carrico |
| 2014 | f | Neighbours. On the warpath | Neighbors | Teddy Sanders |
| 2014 | f | That awkward moment | That Awkward Moment | Jason |
| 2015 | f | 128 heart beats per minute | We Are Your Friends | Cole Carter |
| 2016 | f | Grandfather of easy virtue | Dirty Grandpa | Jason Kelly |
| 2016 | f | Wedding frenzy | Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates | Dave Stangle |
| 2016 | f | Neighbours. On the warpath 2 | Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising | Teddy Sanders |
| 2017 | f | Malibu safeguards | Baywatch | Matt Brody |
| 2017 | f | The Greatest Showman | The Greatest Showman | Philip Carlisle |
| 2019 | f | Beautiful, bad, evil | Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile | Ted Bundy |
Other facts
Zac Efron's addictions and scandals
The stormy youth spent were not in vain - at a fairly early age, Zach acquired a persistent addiction to alcohol.
Subsequently, the actor dealt with it, which was facilitated by his regular visits to the Alcoholics Anonymous Club. According to the artist, he began drinking constantly at the age of twenty, which was due to his lifestyle in those years, namely, the wide fame that came to him, professional success and big money.
Having firmly decided to quit the bad habit, Efron began attending the Alcoholics Anonymous Club, thanks to which he was able, although not without difficulties, to overcome his addiction.
In addition, the actor was treated more than once for drug addiction, repeatedly trying on the role of a patient in one of the Los Angeles drug treatment clinics.
According to him, he was addicted to cocaine for two years, and then got hooked on a new drug called Molly. There have long been rumors that Zach's drug addiction was partly provoked by his difficult relationship with his father and mother, who sought to overly control their son, who had suddenly become popular.
After several rehabilitation courses, the actor got rid of drug addiction, and then decisively cut off ties with almost all of his old friends, who at one time got him hooked on drugs.
Efron is also known for his scandalous behavior, and some episodes from his adventures became known to the media and were then discussed for a long time. For example, one day photographers caught the artist wearing his clothes, and another time he decided to fight with a homeless man on one of the Los Angeles streets at night.
Best kiss in cinema
Throughout his film career, Efron had the opportunity to kiss Halston Sage, Vanessa Hudgens, who was his girlfriend at the time, and once even Nicole Kidman.
But he considers the best and most memorable movie kiss to be the kiss with Zendaya Coleman, which took place on the set of the film “The Great Showman.”
The actor singled it out separately and called it his favorite movie kiss at the moment. Zendaya responded to this with a remark about the positive atmosphere and chemistry that arose between them while working on the tape. After this, many publications began to circulate rumors about a romance between the actors, which they soon denied.
Auditioned for the role of Gray in Fifty Shades of Gray
There has long been a rumor in the press and on the Internet that Efron was assigned the main role in the film adaptation of the novel “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
However, before the launch of the project, Zack was removed from participation in it, and another actor was approved for the main male role.
The reason for the refusal was allegedly the artist’s problems with alcohol and drugs. Zach did not confirm this information, but it was at this time that he went for treatment to a drug treatment clinic and, after successful rehabilitation, was able to get a number of key roles in serious film projects.
Has a good sense of humor
In 2014, rumors about the actor’s non-traditional sexual orientation began to rapidly spread on the Internet. Their reason was not so much Zac’s numerous reincarnations as female characters, but rather a photo taken at one of the baseball games, where Efron came with his co-star in “Neighbors” Dave Franco.
Brother Franco posted this photo on his Twitter and, deciding to joke, provided him with a caption “recognizing” that the artists were dating. But both actors turned out to have a good sense of humor and after what happened they decided to continue and develop the joke - sometimes Zach and Dave publish joint photos on their pages, simultaneously thinking about the date of their future wedding.
Relaxes when meditating and taking photos
The actor has two proven ways to relax after a hard day.
The first is meditation, which Efron conducts through a special program installed on his iPhone. According to Zach, meditation helps relieve stress and gain self-confidence, and it also rids the brain of all unnecessary thoughts.
The second way for Efron to relax is to take photographs. He tries to spend his free time outdoors, always having a camera with him, while giving preference to old film cameras.
Been involved in music for a long time
The actor has been interested in music since childhood; he naturally has good vocal abilities and an ear for music.
At the age of eleven, Zach began attending music school, and a little later he developed an interest in playing musical instruments, especially playing the guitar. Already as a teenager, he played in several theatrical musicals on the school stage, and then began to participate in television musicals. Nowadays, most of the songs performed by his fans can be taken from there.
Efron's most famous singing film is Disney's High School Musical, in which he plays a high school basketball player and co-stars with his then-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens, who plays a high school student on the decathlon team.
The soundtrack to this film became popular, it was released as a separate music album, and the disc sold well. It received a lot of positive reviews from critics, although some of them took issue with Efron's vocal talents - as it turned out, his voice was mixed with Drew Seeley's soundtrack.
The artist himself called the incident a forced measure caused by differences in the vocal ranges between his voice and the planned vocals for the songs (the tracks were written for a tenor, while Efron has a baritone). Later he always sang on his own.
Quick Facts
- 14. Since childhood, Zach had a pretty appearance, but his classmates constantly teased him because of the gap between his teeth.
- 15. In 2007, he was included in the ranking of the wealthiest people whose age did not exceed twenty-five years.
- 16. Several times recognized as the most handsome Hollywood actor.
- 17. In an interview, he admitted that he missed out on a lot due to his rapidly and early-started film career, especially regretting stopping his studies at the university.
- 18. He is a longtime fan of the San Francisco Giants baseball club and collects baseballs autographed by the players.
- 19. He prefers healthy food, but indulges in a piece of chicken with mustard and honey sauce and a bacon sandwich. He drinks only special water recommended for consumption by those who are trying to cope with alcoholism.
- 20. At the age of fourteen he independently mastered playing the guitar.
- 21. He admitted that the only one with whom he would like to exchange lives is the British Queen Elizabeth II.
- 22. Since childhood, he has been actively involved in sports, preferring skiing, golf and surfing.
- 23. Lives in his own house with his dogs and Siamese cat Simon.
- 24. Efron has poor eyesight, but he refuses on principle to wear glasses and contact lenses.
- 25. He is a fan of the London football club Arsenal, trying not to miss a single match of the team. In London, Efron appeared in public more than once wearing a Gunners T-shirt.
- 26. Preparing for filming in “Baywatch,” he spent whole days in the gym. Now the actor continues to keep himself in good physical shape, for which he trains daily and swims in the pool.
- 27. In 2013, he underwent treatment for alcoholism and substance abuse.
- 28. Zach is 1.73 m tall and weighs 75 kg. The actor has blue eyes and light brown hair.
- 29. Efron's zodiac sign is Libra, he was born in the year of the Rabbit.
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