41 Facts About Zac Efron

Zachary David Alexander Efron is an American actor.

Zac Efron had starring roles in the films New Year's Eve, The Lucky One, The Paperboy, Neighbors, Dirty Grandpa, Baywatch, and The Greatest Showman.

Zac Efron played Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile and Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw.

Zachary David Alexander Efron was born on October 18,1987, and grew up in Arroyo Grande, California.

Zac Efron's father, David Efron, is an electrical engineer at Diablo Canyon Power Plant, and his mother, Starla Baskett, is an administrative assistant who works at Diablo Canyon.

Zac Efron has a younger brother, Dylan Zac Efron, and had, as he has described, a "normal childhood" in a middle-class family.

Zac Efron has described himself as Jewish, though he was raised agnostically and did not practice religion as a child.

Zac Efron subsequently worked at The Great American Melodrama and the Vaudeville theaters, and began taking singing lessons.

Zac Efron performed in shows such as Gypsy; Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up; Little Shop of Horrors; and The Music Man.

Zac Efron was recommended to an agent in Los Angeles by his drama teacher, Robyn Metchik, the mother of actor Aaron Michael Metchik.

Zac Efron graduated from Arroyo Grande High School in 2006 and was then accepted into the University of Southern California but did not enroll.

Zac Efron attended Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, a theater company operating out of Allan Hancock College, a community college located in Santa Maria, California, where he performed in 2000 and 2001.

Zac Efron began acting in the early 2000s with guest roles on several television series including Firefly, ER, and The Guardian.

Zac Efron appeared in some films, including the Lifetime television film Miracle Run, for which he earned a Young Artist Award nomination for his performance as one of two autistic twins.

Zac Efron's career reached a turning point with the teen musical television film High School Musical, which premiered on the Disney Channel in January 2006.

The film, which has been described as a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, saw Zac Efron playing the male lead Troy Bolton, a high school basketball player who feels conflicted when he finds himself interested in participating in the school musical with Gabriella Montez, a girl from the scholastic decathlon team.

Zac Efron was next seen as Link Larkin in the musical comedy film Hairspray, based on the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name.

Production conflicted with the High School Musical concert tour, which prevented Zac Efron from joining; Drew Seeley filled in.

Zac Efron again reprised his role in High School Musical 3: Senior Year, the first film in the High School Musical franchise to receive a theatrical release.

Zac Efron followed this with the commercially successful comedy 17 Again about a 37-year-old man who is transformed into his 17-year-old self after a chance accident.

Zac Efron then played the title role in the supernatural romantic drama Charlie St Cloud, which became a moderate success at the box office despite receiving mostly negative reviews from critics.

Zac Efron appeared as a part of the large ensemble cast in Garry Marshall's New Year's Eve, which depicted a series of holiday vignettes of different groups of characters.

Zac Efron played a supporting role in the critically successful Liberal Arts, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2012 and received a limited release later that year.

Zac Efron starred in The Paperboy, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2012 and received a wider release later that year.

Zac Efron starred in the drama At Any Price, which premiered at the 2012 Venice International Film Festival, and the historical drama Parkland, which premiered at the 2013 Venice International Film Festival.

Later in 2014, Zac Efron was seen in the adult comedy Neighbors.

Zac Efron subsequently starred in the comedy sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, which became a commercial and critical success upon its release in May 2016.

In 2017, Zac Efron starred in Baywatch, an action comedy film version of the television series of the same name, released in May Also in 2017, Zac Efron had a supporting role in two biographical films released in December: The Disaster Artist, a comedy-drama directed by and starring James Franco, and as Phillip in the musical The Greatest Showman.

In 2019, Zac Efron played a drug-addled libertine in the Harmony Korine film The Beach Bum.

Zac Efron starred as serial killer Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.

In 2010, Zac Efron started his own production company under Warner Bros.

Zac Efron announced the creation of his YouTube channel in March 2019.

In March 2014, Zac Efron engaged in a fight with a homeless man on Skid Row.

Zac Efron turned to Transcendental Meditation to help decompress after struggling to separate himself from his role as serial killer Ted Bundy in his movie.

Zac Efron moved to Australia after selling his Los Angeles home in early 2021 and purchased a property in Byron Bay while working on a number of projects there.

Zac Efron sought treatment in early 2013 after struggling with alcoholism and substance abuse.

In November 2013, Zac Efron had to have his jaw wired shut after breaking it in a fall at home.

Zac Efron revealed in 2022 that he almost died during this incident, and that it was responsible for his facial swelling, apparent in a viral 2021 video for Bill Nye's Earth Day Musical.

Zac Efron was a vegan for two years until 2022, when he began intermittent fasting, and reintroduced meat into his diet after undergoing a series of food sensitivity tests.

In 2022, Zac Efron opened up about his struggles with mental illnesses including insomnia, agoraphobia, and depression.

Zac Efron developed insomnia and depression after taking diuretics for a long period to prepare for his role in Baywatch.