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Zac Efron

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Zac Efron
Born
Zachary David Alexander Efron

Zachary David Alexander Efron (born October 18, 1987) is an American actor. He began acting in the early 2000s, and became known to young audiences after his roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical,[1] the WB series Summerland, and the film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray.[2] Speaking to Newsweek in June 2006, director Adam Shankman described Efron as "arguably the biggest teen star in America right now."[3] In 2007, right before the release of High School Musical 2, Rolling Stone declared him the "poster boy for tweenyboppers" and featured him in their late August issue.[4]

Biography

Early life

Efron was born in San Luis Obispo, California, and later moved to Arroyo Grande. His father, David Efron, is an engineer at a power plant, and his mother, Starla Baskett, is a former secretary who worked at the same power plant as Efron's father.[5][6] Efron had a self-described "normal childhood" in a middle class family,[1] and has a younger brother, Dylan. He has said that he would "flip out" if he got a 'B' and not an 'A' in school, and that he was a "class clown."[7] Efron's father encouraged him to begin acting when Efron was eleven;[5] he subsequently appeared in theater productions at his high school,[8] worked in a theater called the Melodrama,[1] began taking singing lessons,[5] performed in plays such as Gypsy, Peter Pan, Little Shop of Horrors, The Music Man and Mame, appearing at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts.[9] Efron was recommended to an agent in Los Angeles by his drama teacher, Robyn Metchik (the mother of actors Aaron Michael Metchik and Asher Metchik).[9][10]

Early work and High School Musical

In 2002, Efron began to appear in guest roles on several television series, including Firefly, ER, and The Guardian. He portrayed Cameron Bale on the now-cancelled WB series Summerland. Originally introduced as a recurring character, Efron became a regular cast member on the show in the second season in 2004, starring opposite the likes of Kay Panabaker and Lori Loughlin. Since appearing in Summerland, he has also had guest roles on the shows CSI: Miami, NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Replacements. In 2003, Efron starred in the Lifetime original television movie Miracle Run. He played Steven Morgan, one of two autistic twins. For his performance, he was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Mini-series or Special - Supporting Young Actor.[11] In 2005, he played a main character in Hope Partlow's music video for her song "Sick Inside." Also in 2005, he played horse-loving Patrick McCardle in The Derby Stallion, where his character wants to beat the town bully at the steeple chase race.

In 2006, Efron starred in the Disney Channel original movie High School Musical as Troy Bolton, alongside actresses Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale and Monique Coleman (who, like Efron, have all appeared on the series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody), as well as actors Lucas Grabeel and Corbin Bleu. The film, which he initially made with "low expectations",[1] helped Efron gain recognition among teenage audiences as both an actor and a singer. As a result, he placed as high as #4 on the IMDBPro's STARMeter for the week of January 29 2006.[12] In August 2006, Efron won a Teen Choice Award in the Breakout Star and the TV - Choice Chemistry categories, shared with Hudgens. The film's cast, along with Efron, toured Sydney, Australia, London, England, and other locations to promote the film, although Efron did not participate in the High School Musical Concert that toured the U.S. and Canada throughout the fall and winter 2006.

Shortly after High School Musical aired, Efron debuted with two simultaneous charted songs on February 4, 2006, Billboard Hot 100, with "Get'cha Head in the Game" and "Breaking Free," a duet with Vanessa Anne Hudgens from High School Musical. On the following week's chart, Efron had five simultaneous song credits, all from High School Musical, including, once more, "Get'cha Head in the Game," "Start of Something New," "What I've Been Looking For: Reprise," "We're All in This Together" (which was credited to the whole High School Musical cast) and "Breaking Free." "Breaking Free," at the time, made the fastest climb in the history of the Billboard charts, from #86 to #4 between the two weeks; the record has since been beaten by Eminem and Akon's "Smack That." [13] Efron also appeared in the 2006 Disney Channel Games as captain of the Red Team.

Efron's singing talents were disputed when it was revealed that Andrew Seeley's voice was blended with his on the soundtrack of High School Musical.[14]

2007-present

On April 7, 2007, Efron appeared in an episode of Punk'd with High School Musical co-star Ashley Tisdale. He was set up by two guys pretending to steal a box at a local store (they were really taking it to the "manager's" house) and finding out that the "security guard" (who left the store at the time to eat a hot dog) never saw the whole thing. The "manager" questions both stars, but does not believe Efron when he describes what happened. Around the same time, Efron also starred in the music video for Vanessa Hudgens's single 'Say OK', where he played her love interest. The video aired on March 16, 2007 on Disney Channel. That year, he was named one of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People in 2007. A picture and short profile of him was in the section "Coming of Age," along with pop singer/actress Hilary Duff, actress Hayden Panettiere and R&B singer Chris Brown. In it, he related how he was always the shortest kid in school (he is now 5'8")[6] and was teased for the "huge gap" in his teeth.[15]

In 2006, Efron was cast as Link Larkin in a film version of Hairspray, also starring Amanda Bynes, Queen Latifah, and John Travolta and released on July 20, 2007. Efron performed all of his own vocals in the role,[3] which was filmed in Toronto, Ontario from September 5 to December 2, 2006. He cut and dyed his hair dark brown and gained about 15 lbs. for the role.[16] Both Efron's performance and the film have received positive reviews.[9]

Efron's upcoming roles include Seventeen, a high school-set drama/comedy produced by Adam Shankman and based on a pitch by Jason Filardi;[17] the plot involves an adult who is transformed into a 17-year old (to be played by Efron).[18] Efron is also scheduled to star in Paramount's musical remake of the film Footloose;[19] he has said that he would like to add his "own little bit of flair" to the role originated by Kevin Bacon.[6]

For his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray, Efron (along with his co-star Nikki Blonsky) won the "One to Watch" award of the Young Hollywood Awards.[20]

Efron appeared on the cover of the August 2007 edition of Rolling Stone.[21]

Efron has finalized negotiations with the producers of Seventeen, a film slated to commence shooting in November 2007.[22][23]

Personal life

Efron has two dogs, Australian shepherds named Dreamer and Puppy, along with a Siamese cat named Simon.[24] It has been confirmed that Zac Efron is currently dating his co star in High School Musical Vannessa Hudgens. [25]

Filmography

Year Film/television Role
2002 Firefly Young Simon Tam
2003 Melinda's World Stuart Wasser
2003 The Guardian Luke Tomello
2003 ER Bobby Neville
2003 The Big Wide World of Carl Laemke Pete Laemke
2004 Miracle Run Steven Morgan
2004 Room Raiders Himself
2004 Triple Play Harry Fuller
2005 Sick Inside — Hope Partlow Love Interest
2005 Summerland Cameron Bale
2005 CSI: Miami Seth Dawson
2006 The Replacements Davey Hunkerhoff
2006 If I Lived Here, You'd be Home Now Cody
2006 Heist Pizza Delivery Guy
2006 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody Trevor
2006 High School Musical Troy Bolton
2006 NCIS Danny
2006 The Derby Stallion Patrick McCardle
2007 Punk'd Himself
2007 Say OK - Vannessa Hudgens Love Interest
2007 Hairspray Link Larkin
2007 High School Musical 2 Troy Bolton
2008 Seventeen (pre-production)
2008 High School Musical 3 (pre-production) Troy Bolton (in talks)
2009 Footloose Ren McCormick (in talks)

Discography

Soundtracks

Singles

Year Title Album Chart positions
U.S. U.S. Pop 100 UK AUS ARC NZ
2006 "Breaking Free"
(with Vanessa Anne Hudgens and Andrew Seeley) 		High School Musical Soundtrack 4 6 9 13 - 5
"Start of Something New"
(with Vanessa Anne Hudgens and Andrew Seeley) 		28 30 - - - -
"What I've Been Looking For (Reprise)"
(with Vanessa Anne Hudgens) 		67 54 - - - -
2007 "Ladies' Choice" Hairspray Soundtrack - - 96 [26] - - -
2007 "What Time Is It?" High School Musical 2 Soundtrack 6 6 20 - - -
"Bet On It" - - - - - -
"You Are The Music In Me"
(with Vanessa Anne Hudgens) 		- - - - - -

Awards and nominations

Awards

Nominations

References

Wikiquote has quotations related to Zac Efron.
  1. ^ a b c d Ouzounian, Richard (2007-08-04). "Zac Efron: The High School hunk". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-08-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ "Zac Efron Joins Cast of 'Hairspray'". CBS Studios. 2006-06-26. Retrieved 2006-08-15. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ a b "MSNBC". Hollywood: Hello to Hairspray. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/15824947/zac_efron_the_new_american_heart_throb
  5. ^ a b c "Zac Efron". Life Story: 11. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ a b c Elkin, Michael (2007-08-02). "'High' Times Ahead". The Jewish Exponent. Retrieved 2007-08-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ "It's True!". BOP. 2006. Retrieved 2007-07-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ "The Inside Scoop on Zac Efron". Life Story III. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ a b c Pemberton, Patrick S. (2007-07-19). "A Rising Star". SanLuisObispo.com. Retrieved 2007-07-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ "Getting to Know Zac Efron". Life Story I. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ "IMDB". IMDB Awards for Zac Efron. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "IMDB Pro". IMDB Prop StarMeter. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Eur Web". MUSIC/WEB BITS: Akon’s record; Fat Joe’s label; Madonna denies adoption; Ice T & NYC mayor; B-Real on ‘Scarface’ LP; Doin' It Network. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Billboard.com
  15. ^ "Coming of Age." People Magazine 7 May 2007: 171.
  16. ^ "Canada.com". Summer of stars. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ McNary, Dave (2007-02-27). "School ties for New Line". Variety. Retrieved 2007-06-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ Carroll, Larry (2007-06-19). "'High School Musical' Star Zac Efron Pulling A Reverse Tom Hanks With 'Seventeen'". MTV Movie News. Retrieved 2007-06-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  19. ^ Gans, Andrew (2007-07-11). ""Hairspray" Star Efron Will Be "Footloose" in Film Remake". Playbill.com. Retrieved 2007-07-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  20. ^ http://imdb.com/title/tt0427327/awards
  21. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/15824947/zac_efron_the_new_american_heart_throb
  22. ^ http://www.movieweb.com/news/46/22046.php
  23. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20052339,00.html
  24. ^ Millea, Holly (July, 2007). "Zac Attack". ELLE. Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272615285.shtml
  26. ^ ChartStats.com
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