Zachary David Alexander Efron Efron (/ ˈɛfrɒn /; born October 18, 1987)[2] is an American actor

and singer. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence in the
late 2000s for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the  High School Musical 
Musical trilogy 
trilogy (2006–2008).
During this time, he also starred in the musical film  Hairspray 
Hairspray (2007) and the comedy film 
film 17
Again 
Again (2009). Efron has since starred in the films  films New Year's Eve 
Eve (2011), 
(2011), The Lucky
One 
One (2012), 
(2012), The Paperboy 
Paperboy (2012), 
(2012), Neighbors 
Neighbors (2014), 
(2014), Dirty Grandpa 
Grandpa (2016), 
(2016), Neighbors 2:
Sorority Rising 
Rising (2016), 
(2016), Baywatch 
Baywatch (2017), 
(2017), The Greatest Showman 
Showman (2017), and and Extremely
Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile 
Vile (2019).

Contents

 1 Early life

 2 Career

 2.1 2002–2006: Early career

 2.2 2006–2009: High School Musical and breakthrough

 2.3 2009–2014: Other work

 2.4 2014–present: Commercial success

 2.4.1 Upcoming projects

 3 Personal life

 4 Filmography

 4.1 Film

 4.2 Television

 4.3 Web

 4.4 Music videos

 5 Discography

 5.1 Singles

 5.2 Other charted songs

 6 Awards and nominations

 7 References

 8 External links
Early life
Efron was born in San Luis Obispo, California,[3] and later moved to Arroyo Grande,
California. His father, David Efron, is an electrical engineer at a power station, and his
mother, Starla Baskett, is a secretary who worked at the same power plant. [4][5] Efron
has a brother, Dylan,[2] and had, as he has described, a "normal childhood" in a middle-
class family.[6] His last name, "Efron" (‫)אפרון‬, is a Jewish surname, taken from a Biblical
place name.[7][8] Zac has described himself as Jewish, [9] though he was raised in
an agnostic household and did not practice religion as a child.[10]
Efron has said that he would "flip out" if he got a "B" and not an "A" in school, as well
as that he was a class clown.[11] His father encouraged him to begin acting when Zac
was eleven years old.[4] Efron subsequently appeared in theater productions at his high
school,[12] worked in the theater The Great American Melodrama and Vaudeville, [6] and
began taking singing lessons.[4] He performed in shows such as Gypsy; Peter Pan, or
The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up; Little Shop of Horrors; and The Music Man. He was
recommended to an agent in Los Angeles by his drama teacher, Robyn Metchik (the
mother of actors Aaron Michael Metchik and Asher Metchik).[13][14] Efron was later
signed to the Creative Artists Agency.[15]
Efron graduated from Arroyo Grande High School in 2006[16] and was then accepted
into the University of Southern California but did not enroll. He also attended Pacific
Conservatory of the Performing Arts, a community college located in Santa Maria,
California, where he performed during the years of 2000 and 2001.[17]

Career
2002–2006: Early career

Efron at the 2007 Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards

Efron began acting in the early 2000s with guest roles on several television series
including Firefly,[18] ER, and The Guardian. In 2004, he began appearing as a recurring
character in the first season of the WB series Summerland.[19][19] For the show's second
season, which aired in 2005, he was promoted to the main cast. He also appeared in
some films, including the Lifetime television film Miracle Run (2004), for which he
earned a Young Artist Award nomination for his performance as one of two autistic
twins.
2006–2009: High School Musical and breakthrough
Efron's career reached a turning point with the teen musical television film High
School Musical (2006), which premiered on the Disney Channel in January 2006. The
film, which has been described as a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, saw 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 (Vanessa Hudgens), a girl from the scholastic decathlon team. The film, which
also starred Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, and Monique Coleman in
pivotal roles, became a major success and helped Efron gain recognition among
teenage audiences. The film's soundtrack was certified quadruple platinum by
the RIAA,[20] making it one of the best-selling albums of the year in the United States.
Efron's singing talents were disputed when it was revealed that his voice had been
blended with Drew Seeley's on the soundtrack, but Efron clarified that the songs
(written for a tenor) were written before he was cast and therefore did not suit his
more baritone vocal range. In his subsequent musical films, Efron did his own singing.
Efron was next seen playing the role of Link Larkin in the musical comedy
film Hairspray (2007), based on the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name. The
film became a major commercial and critical success upon its release in July 2007.
Later that year, he was seen reprising his role of Troy Bolton in High School Musical
2 (2007), which aired on the Disney Channel in August 2007.
Efron reprised his role of Troy Bolton in High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008), the
first film in the High School Musical franchise to receive a theatrical release. The film
became a major blockbuster at the box office, and received mixed to positive reviews
from critics. He followed this with the commercially successful comedy 17
Again (2009) about a 37-year-old man (Matthew Perry) who is transformed into his 17-
year-old self (Efron) after a chance accident.
2009–2014: Other work

Efron in 2012

Efron's next release was Richard Linklater's period drama Me and Orson Welles, which
premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2008 and received
a wide release in late 2009. The film earned mostly positive reviews from critics. He
next played the title role in the supernatural romantic drama Charlie St. Cloud (2010),
which became a moderate success at the box office despite receiving mostly negative
reviews from critics.
Efron next appeared as a part of the large ensemble cast in Garry Marshall's New
Year's Eve (2011), which depicted a series of holiday vignettes of different groups of
characters. The film received almost unanimously negative reviews from critics, but
became a major success at the box office. He also played a supporting role in the
critically successful Liberal Arts (2012), which premiered at the Sundance Film
Festival in January 2012 and received a limited release later that year. He also starred
alongside Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, David Oyelowo, and John
Cusack in The Paperboy (2012), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May
2012 and received a wider release later that year. The film received mixed to negative
reviews from critics.
After lending his voice to the commercially successful computer-animated film The
Lorax (2012), he appeared as the male lead in the romantic drama The Lucky
One (2012), based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film
became a major box office success despite negative reviews from critics. He also
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. Both of the films received mixed reviews from critics.
Efron's first release of 2014 was the romantic comedy That Awkward Moment, on
which he was also an executive producer. The film, which starred Efron
alongside Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan as three bachelors in New York City,
became a moderate commercial success despite receiving mostly negative reviews
from critics.
2014–present: Commercial success

Efron at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, May 2012

Later in 2014, Efron was seen in the adult comedy Neighbors (2014), co-starring Seth

Rogen. The film revolved around a young couple, played by Rogen and Rose Byrne,
who struggle to raise their baby daughter while living next to the house of a wild
fraternity led by its president, played by Efron. The film became a major commercial
success and earned mostly positive reviews from critics, who also added that Efron
had successfully shed his "Disney kid" pretty boy image.[21]
Efron's only release in 2015 was the moderately successful We Are Your Friends (2015),
in which he played a struggling DJ. In January 2016, he starred alongside Robert De
Niro in the adult comedy Dirty Grandpa, about a straitlaced young man who
begrudgingly indulges his grandfather's unhinged personality by taking him on a
vacation to Florida. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics for its crude
humor, but became a commercial success upon its release. He subsequently co-
starred with Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, and Chloë Grace Moretz in the comedy
sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, which became a commercial and critical success
upon its release in May 2016. The film followed the same couple (Rogen and Byrne)
who team up with their former rival (Efron) to take down a hard-partying sorority led
by a freshman (Moretz). His third 2016 comedy, released in July, was Mike and Dave
Need Wedding Dates, in which he co-starred with Adam DeVine (playing siblings), as
well as Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza.
In 2017, Efron starred in Baywatch, an action comedy film version of the television
series of the same name, released in May. The film features Dwayne Johnson and
Efron with an ensemble cast, including Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Jon
Bass, Ilfenesh Hadera, and Priyanka Chopra. Also in 2017, 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, opposite Hugh Jackman. Both were nominated for the Golden Globe
Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.[22][23]
In 2019, Efron played a drug-addled libertine in the Harmony Korine film The Beach
Bum, opposite star Matthew McConaughey.[24] He also starred as serial killer Ted
Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, opposite Lily Collins as Bundy's
girlfriend.[25] The film premiered at Sundance in early 2019 and was released by Netflix
on May 3.
Upcoming projects

Efron will star with his brother in a survival reality series called Kill the Efrons, where
the pair will be sent to remote parts of the world.[26] The mobile-only series will
premiere in April 2020, on Quibi. Efron has been cast to voice Fred Jones in Warner
Bros.' 2020 Scooby-Doo animated film.[27]

Personal life
Efron was on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2008 at number 92, with estimated
earnings of $5.8 million from June 2007 to June 2008. In April 2009, his personal
wealth equaled about $10 million.[28] In May 2015, Efron's net worth was $18 million.[29]
People magazine reported in 2007 that Efron and Vanessa Hudgens began dating in
2005 during the filming of High School Musical,[30][31][32] although Us magazine
reported, after the two broke up in December 2010, that they "met in 2005 while
making the first High School Musical flick, and became a romantic item about two
years later."[33] Efron began a romantic relationship with model and entrepreneur Sami
Miró in September 2014. The couple split in April 2016.[34][35]
Efron sought treatment in early 2013 after struggling with alcoholism and substance
abuse. He has been sober since June 2013. [1] In November 2013, Efron had to have
his jaw wired shut after breaking it in a fall at home.[36] In March 2014, Efron engaged
in a fight with a homeless man in Skid Row. Law enforcement officials did not make
any arrests because they viewed it as mutual combat.[37]
In 2010, Efron started his own production company under Warner Bros., Ninjas
Runnin' Wild.[38] The company played a part in the production of his films Dirty
Grandpa, That Awkward Moment, and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.[39] In
2019, Efron's brother Dylan, who also plays a role in the company, stated that Ninjas
Runnin' Wild has started to produce more digital content in addition to their
traditional film work.[40]
Efron announced the creation of his YouTube channel in March 2019.[41] The video
sharing platform hosts two weekly series.[42] "Off the Grid" follows Efron and his
brother Dylan as they participate in outdoor activities and trips without electronic
devices—with the exception of a video camera in order to document their
experiences.[43] "Gym Time" spotlights fitness and nutrition, with Efron informing his
viewers that he plans to "train with celebrities, athletes, and interesting people". [42]
[44] YouTube received backlash for promoting Efron's new channel in a post made from
their official Twitter account. Fans accused the platform of promoting a mainstream
celebrity's account, which they feared would overshadow lesser known creators and
would make it more difficult for them to "break through."[45]
Efron turned to transcendental meditation (TM) to help decompress after struggling
to separate himself from his role as serial killer Ted Bundy in his movie. "I really love
TM, transcendental meditation. I did TM on the way home. Not while driving, but
when you're shooting a movie, one thing we can afford is a ride home, so on the way
home I just do some TM and try to phase out of it."[46]
In December 2019, Efron contracted a serious and potentially life-threatening illness,
a "form of typhoid or similar bacterial infection", while filming his adventure
series Killing Zac Efron in Papua New Guinea. He was flown to St Andrews War
Memorial Hospital in Australia and was treated before flying back home on Christmas
Eve. He recovered without serious issue.[47][48][49][50]

Filmography
Film
Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released.
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2003 Melinda's World Stuart Wasser [51]

2005 The Derby Stallion Patrick McCardle [52]

2007 Hairspray Link Larkin [53]

2008 High School Musical 3: Senior Year Troy Bolton [54]

2008 Me and Orson Welles Richard Samuels [55]

2009 17 Again Mike O'Donnell [56]

2010 Charlie St. Cloud Charlie St. Cloud [57]

2011 New Year's Eve Paul [58]

2012 At Any Price Dean Whipple [59]

2012 Liberal Arts Nat [60]

2012 The Lorax Ted Voice role [61]

2012 The Lucky One Logan Thibault [62]

2012 The Paperboy Jack Jansen [63]

2013 Parkland Dr. Charles James "Jim" Carrico