Zac Efron

 

Zac Efron really came into prominence when he starred in the first “High School Musical” in 2006. Prior to this Zac had played minor roles in stage productions and TV movies.

Zac was born in 1987 in San Luis Obispo, California and raised in Arroyo Grande. His parents were well aware of his singing ability and at age 11 he took his first steps into acting. He took singing lessons and appeared in a production of “Gypsy”, which ran for a total of 90 performances, and from that moment on he had the bug.

When High School Musical was cast, the part of Troy Bolton was given to Zac and it was obvious from the very beginning that the part was made for him. High School Musical went on to win an Emmy and it became the most successful film ever to be produced by the Disney Channel. It was the most watched film that year for the Disney channel with over 7.7 million viewers in its first screening. Globally, over 225 million viewers have seen the first movie. They have since gone on to produce High School Musical 2 and 3 with High School Musical 4 due to be released in 2010.

The soundtrack from High School Musical in 2006, was the best selling album in the US for that year and the YouTube video has been watched nearly 55 million times!

The plot for the High School Musical movies is really a modern adaptation of the classic Romeo and Juliet story. It’s the story about two junior high school students from two opposing groups. Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) is the leader of the basketball team, while Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) excels in maths and science. She is a shy, and beautiful transfer student. They both audition for leads in their high school musical which ends up dividing their school.

Despite the ongoing pressure from other students to prevent them from starring in the musical, Troy and Gabriella eventually inspire other students not to stick to the status quo.

High School Musical 2 and 3 have both gone on to success and fans are anxiously awaiting the release of High School Musical 4. High School Musical 3 focused on the senior years, which is a departure from the junior school environment.

In other Zac Efron news, he’s set to star in the musical remake of “Footloose”. He’s taking the part that Kevin Bacon called his own, and Zac has said that he’d like to add his own bit of flair to the role. He’s also recently starred in the move “17 Again” which has just been released this year into theaters.

Zac has recently sported a short hair cut after promoting “17 Again” and is set to star in a drama called “The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud.” He’s also set to make a cameo appearance in the TV show “Entourage.”

He’s one busy young man and he’s sure to be the one to watch as he becomes a major movie star in the years to come.