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Zac Efron

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Zac Efron
Zac Efron, October 2007
Born
Zachary David Alexander Efron
Occupation(s)Actor, Singer, Dancer
Years active2002–present

Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron (born October 18, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s, and became known to young audiences after his roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray.[1][2] 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 2007 issue.[3]

Early life and background

Efron was born in San Luis Obispo, California, and later moved to Arroyo Grande, California. 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.[4][5] Efron has a younger brother, Dylan, and had a self-described "normal childhood" in a middle class family.[1] He is of Jewish ancestry and is an agnostic, having never been religious.[3][5][6][7] His surname, "Efron", means "lark" in Hebrew.[8]

Efron has said that he would "flip out" if he got a "B" and not an "A" in school, and has also described himself as having been a class clown.[9] Although self-described as not academically gifted, he remained focused enough to achieve an overall GPA of 4.3.[10] Efron's father encouraged him to begin acting when Efron was 11-years-old.[4] He subsequently appeared in theater productions at his high school,[11] worked in a theater called The Great American Melodrama and Vaudeville,[1] and began taking singing lessons.[4] Efron performed in plays such as Gypsy; Peter Pan, Or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up; Little Shop of Horrors; and The Music Man. 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).[12][13] He was later signed to the Creative Artists Agency.[14]

Education

Efron graduated from Arroyo Grande High School, in 2006,[15] and was then accepted into the University of Southern California, but he deferred his enrollment while he worked on film projects. Efron also attended Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, a community college located in Santa Maria, California, which provided him with the opportunity to perform as a "young player" during the years of 2000 and 2001.[16]

Career

Early work

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, Lori Loughlin and Jesse McCartney. Since appearing in Summerland, he has also had guest roles on the shows CSI: Miami, NCIS (TV series), 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.[17] 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.

Breakthrough

In 2006, Efron starred in the Disney Channel original movie High School Musical as Troy Bolton, the popular student and captain of the basketball team. The film, which he initially made with "low expectations",[1] helped Efron gain recognition among teenage audiences as both an actor and a singer, even though his singing voice was overdubbed. As a result, he placed as high as #4 on the IMDBPro's STARMeter for the week of January 29, 2006.[18] In August 2006, Efron won a Teen Choice Award in the Breakout Star and the TV — Choice Chemistry categories, shared with Vanessa Hudgens. The film's cast, along with Efron, toured Sydney, Australia, London, England, and other locations to promote the film.

Shortly after High School Musical aired, Efron debuted with two simultaneous charted songs on Billboard Hot 100 on February 4, 2006, with "Get'cha Head in the Game" and "Breaking Free", a duet with Vanessa Hudgens from the film. On the following week's chart, Efron had five simultaneous song credits from High School Musical: "Get'cha Head in the Game", "Start of Something New", "What I've Been Looking For: Reprise", "We're All in This Together" and "Breaking Free." "We're All in This Together" was credited to the whole High School Musical cast. "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 was beaten by Beyoncé and Shakira's "Beautiful Liar".[19] 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 Drew Seeley's voice was blended with his on the soundtrack of High School Musical.[20] An August 23, 2007 interview in Rolling Stone magazine revealed that he had been cast in High School Musical after the songs were written, and the songs (written for a tenor) were somewhat out of his baritone vocal range. However, Efron stated in interviews that he felt his future is that of a serious dramatic actor, not necessarily a singer.

Career development

On April 7, 2007, Efron appeared in an episode of Punk'd. 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". In it, he related how he was always the shortest kid in school (he is now[when?] 5'8")[5] and was teased for the "huge gap" in his teeth.[21]

In 2006, Efron was cast as Link Larkin in a film version of Hairspray released on July 20, 2007. Efron performed all of his own vocals in the role,[22] 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 pounds for the role.[23] Efron's performance and the film received positive reviews.[12] Efron was not able to perform with his fellow castmates in High School Musical: The Concert because of commitments on the film Hairspray. Drew Seeley took over for him.

Efron with Vanessa Hudgens at the 81st Academy Awards.

High School Musical 2 was released in August 2007, and Efron topped IMDBPro's Star Meter at #1, indicating that he was the most searched celebrity.[citation needed] Additionally, Lycos reported searches for Efron surged by 81%.[24] The film set a new record, becoming the most watched basic cable program in U.S. history, with 17.2 million viewers.[25] Efron also appeared on the cover of the August 2007 edition of Rolling Stone.[3] The article about him revealed that he hoped to someday play an action hero. Efron presented the 2007 Teen Choice Award for "Favorite Movie" along with Queen Latifah, and later that year, he co-hosted the Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards with The Veronicas on October 10 in Sydney.[26]

Efron reprised his role in High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which was theatrically released on October 24, 2008. His next role was in 17 Again, a high school-set comedy-drama produced by Adam Shankman and based on a pitch by Jason Filardi;[27] the plot involved an adult who is transformed into a 17-year old (played by Efron).[28] 17 Again was released in 2009.[18]

Efron Arrives at Tiff '08 Premiere of Me and Orson Welles

In early 2008, Efron was cast in the lead role in the film Me and Orson Welles. Based on Robert Kaplow's novel of the same name, the story, set in 1937 New York, tells of a teenager hired to star in Orson Welles' production of Julius Caesar, where he becomes attracted to a career-driven production assistant. The film was shot in the Isle of Man, London and New York, during February — April 2008. It was introduced to North America via the Toronto Film Festival on September 5, 6, and 11, 2008[29] and was released in 2009. Efron was also scheduled to star in Paramount's musical remake of the film Footloose,[30] and has said that he would like to add his "own little bit of flair" to the role originated by Kevin Bacon.[5] In March 2009 he dropped out of the film.[31] Efron was quoted as saying that while it was a promising gig, he left the project because he "was looking for a new challenge, and this was another musical."[32]

Efron signed on to play a role in the movie "The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud"[33] In 2009, Efron was revealed to be connected to the live action rendition of the Japanese anime Full Metal Panic, simply entitled "Panic".[34] He is also starring in the title role of the live-action adaptation of the Jonny Quest cartoons.[35]

On April 8, 2009, Efron's participation in a comedic short video entitled "Zac Efron's Pool Party" for the website Funny Or Die was released for public viewing.[36] On April 11, 2009, Efron hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live.[37] In early June 2009 it was confirmed that Efron would be making a guest appearance during the sixth season of HBO's comedy series Entourage.[38]

Efron has recently starred in a series of advertisements along with Kristen Bell and Sean Combs promoting the 2010 MTV Movie Awards and the host, Aziz Ansari.

Personal life

Efron owns an apartment in Los Angeles, California. On January 15, 2008, Efron was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for an emergency appendectomy.[39] Efron was also on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2008, as number 92 with an estimated earning of $5.8 million from June 2007 to June 2008. As of April 5, 2009, his personal wealth equaled about $10 million.[40] Vanessa Hudgens confirmed in an October 2007 interview with Teen that she and Efron began dating in 2005 during the filming of High School Musical.[41][42][43]

Filmography

Template:Filmography table begin |- |rowspan="2"|2003 |Melinda's World |Stuart Wasser | |- |The Big Wide World of Carl Laemke |Pete Laemke | |- |rowspan="2"| 2004 |Miracle Run |Steven Morgan |Nominated—Young Artist Award for Best Performance In A TV Movie, Miniseries Or Special By A Supporting Actor |- |Triple Play |Harry Fuller | |- |2005 |The Derby Stallion |Patrick McCardle | |- | rowspan="2"| 2006 |If You Lived Here, You'd be Home Now |Cody | |- |High School Musical |Troy Bolton |Teen Choice Award for Choice Chemistry (With Vanessa Hudgens)
Nominated—Young Artist Award for Best Performance In A TV Movie, Miniseries Or Special By A Lead Actor |- |rowspan="2"| 2007 |Hairspray |Link Larkin |Hollywood Film Award for Ensemble Of The Year
Young Hollywood Award for One To Watch
MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance - Male
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Song
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |- |High School Musical 2 |Troy Bolton | |- |2008 |High School Musical 3: Senior Year |Troy Bolton |MTV Movie Award for Best Performance - Male
Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor Music/Dance
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (with Vanessa Hudgens) |- |rowspan="2"| 2009 |17 Again |Mike O'Donnell (teen) |Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor Comedy
Teen Choice Award for Choice Rockstar Moment
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Performance - Male |- |Me and Orson Welles |Richard Samuels | |- | 2010 |Charlie St. Cloud |Charlie St. Cloud |post-production Template:Filmography table end

Television

Template:Filmography table begin |- |2002 |Firefly |Young Simon Tam |"Safe" (ep. 1.5) |- |rowspan="2"| 2003 |The Guardian |Luke Tomello |"Without Consent" (ep. 3.15) |- |ER |Bobby Neville |"Dear Abby" (ep. 10.3) |- |rowspan="3"| 2005 |Summerland |Cameron Bale |16 episodes |- |CSI: Miami |Seth Dawson |"Sex & Taxes" (ep. 3.19) |- |The Replacements |Davey Hunkerhoff |"Davey Hunkerhoff / Ratted Out" (ep. 1.10) |- |rowspan="3"| 2006 |Heist |Pizza Delivery Guy |"Pilot" (ep. 1.1) |- |The Suite Life of Zack & Cody |Trevor |"Odd Couples" (ep. 2.1) |- |NCIS |Danny |"Deception" (ep. 3.13) |- |2008 |Robot Chicken |Billy Joel |"Tell My Mom" (ep. 4.5) |- |rowspan="4"| 2009 |Robot Chicken |Harry Potter |"I Love Her" (ep. 4.10) |- |Saturday Night Live |Himself/Host |Episode 34.20 |- |Saturday Night Live |Himself |"Chat with the Stars" |- |Entourage[44] |Himself |"Security Briefs" (ep. 6.9) Template:Filmography table end

Other awards

Discography

Soundtracks

Charted songs

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US US Pop UK AUS
2007 "Ladies Choice" — — 96[45] — Hairspray (soundtrack)
"What Time Is It?" 6 6 20 20 High School Musical 2
(soundtrack)
"Bet on It" 46 35 65 —
"You Are the Music In Me" (with Vanessa Hudgens and Olesya Rulin) 31 28 26 86
"You Are the Music In Me (Sharpay Version)" (with Ashley Tisdale) — 95 89 —
"Gotta Go My Own Way" (with Vanessa Hudgens) 34 31 40 —
"Everyday" (with Vanessa Hudgens) 65 46 55 —
2008 "Now or Never" (with High School Musical 3 cast) 68 41 41 92 High School Musical 3:
Senior Year (soundtrack)
"A Night to Remember" (with High School Musical 3 cast) 108 — — 96
"Right Here, Right Now" (with Vanessa Hudgens) 119 — — —
"Can I Have This Dance" (with Vanessa Hudgens) 98 — — 84
"The Boys Are Back" (with Corbin Bleu) 101 — — 72
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

  1. ^ a b c d Ouzounian, Richard (2007-08-04). "Zac Efron: The High School hunk". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  2. ^ "Zac Efron Joins Cast of Hairspray". CBS Studios. 2006-06-26. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
  3. ^ a b c Strauss, Neil (August 23, 2007), Zac Efron - the new American hearthrob, The Rolling Stone, pg 43. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
  4. ^ a b c "Zac Efron". Life Story: 11.
  5. ^ a b c d Elkin, Michael (2007-08-02). "'High' Times Ahead". The Jewish Exponent. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  6. ^ Millea, Holly (July 2007). "Zac Attack". Elle. Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
  7. ^ "Rumors". Charismatic - zefron.com. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  8. ^ Culture staff (2010-04-16). "Zac Efron to Smuggle Cocaine (in a movie)". ShalomLife. Retrieved 2010-05-01. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ "It's True!". BOP. 2006. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  10. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  11. ^ "The Inside Scoop on Zac Efron". Life Story III.
  12. ^ a b Pemberton, Patrick S. (2007-07-19). "A Rising Star". SanLuisObispo.com. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  13. ^ "Getting to Know Zac Efron". Life Story I.
  14. ^ McNary, Dave. "New Line taps Steers to drive 17". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessdatedate= ignored (help)
  15. ^ "Zac Efron - High School Graduation".
  16. ^ "The PCPA Alumni Page".
  17. ^ "IMDB". IMDB Awards for Zac Efron. Retrieved March 13, 2006.
  18. ^ a b "IMDB Pro". IMDB Prop StarMeter. Retrieved March 13, 2006. Cite error: The named reference "imdbpro" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  19. ^ "Akon Scores Second No 1 Hit from Konvicted". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 29, 2007.
  20. ^ Billboard.com
  21. ^ "Coming of Age". People: 171. May 7, 2007.
  22. ^ "MSNBC". Hollywood: Hello to Hairspray. Retrieved June 25, 2006.
  23. ^ "Canada.com". Summer of stars. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthdate= ignored (help)
  24. ^ O'Reilly, Kathy (August 22, 2007). "Lycos Announces HBO 'Weeds' Star Mary Louise Parker Sparks Online Interest, Making First-Ever Appearance on Search List; Golf Continues to Score Hole in One with Web Users".
  25. ^ "Disney Channel crushes rivals in weekly ratings".
  26. ^ "Efron to host Aussie Kids Choice awards". August 26, 2007.
  27. ^ McNary, Dave (2007-02-27). "School ties for New Line". Variety. Retrieved 2007-06-19. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ cs=1 "Toronto fest adds 20 films to lineup". {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  30. ^ Gans, Andrew (2007-07-11). ""Hairspray" Star Efron Will Be "Footloose" in Film Remake". Playbill.com. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  31. ^ "Zac Efron No Longer Cuttin Footloose".
  32. ^ "Zac Efron Talks Turning Down "Footloose"". Gossip Girls. 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  33. ^ "Zac Efron: Putting High School Musical Behind Him". 2009-03-30. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  34. ^ "Full Metal Panic Coming to the Big Screen". Superhero Hype!. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  35. ^ "Zac Efron Confirmed for Jonny Quest". 2009-04-13. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  36. ^ "Zac Efron's Pool Party from Zac Efron, Thomas Lennon, Nicole Sullivan, Vanessa Hudgens, Justin Long, Brody Jenner, Nicole Richie, Joel Madden, Jessica Stroup, Brittany Snow, Carmen Electra, Queen Latifah, Lance Bass, and Abby Pivaronas - Video". Funnyordie.com. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  37. ^ "SNL Archives | Episode". Snl.jt.org. 2009-04-11. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  38. ^ "Zac Efron Joins HBO's Entourage". E! Online. 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  39. ^ "Zac Efron Hospitalized for Appendectomy - Health, Zac Efron". People.
  40. ^ "Zac Efron Grows Up". Sydney Morning Herald.
  41. ^ "Showbuzz.com".
  42. ^ "Zac & Vanessa's Real-Life Romance". People. August 22, 2007. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
  43. ^ "Zac Efron Grows Up". Sydney Morning Herald.
  44. ^ The Futon Critic Entourage Episode Guide
  45. ^ ChartStats.com

Further reading

  • Zac Efron (2006, ISBN 1584152508)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zac Efron.

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