General Information.

Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron (born October 18, 1987) is an American actor and singer. 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, the WB series Summerland, and the film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray.[1][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]

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 5'8")[6] and was teased for the "huge gap" in his teeth.[20]

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,[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 pounds for the role.[21] Both Efron's performance and the film have received positive reviews.[11] Because of this, he was not able to perform with his fellow castmates in High School Musical: The Concert. Drew Seeley took over for him.

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.[22] Additionally, Lycos reported searches for Efron surged by 81%.[23] The film set a new record, becoming the most watched basic cable program in U.S. history, with 17.2 million viewers.[24] Efron also appeared on the cover of the August 2007 edition of Rolling Stone.[25] 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][27]

Efron's upcoming roles include 17 Again, a high school-set drama/comedy produced by Adam Shankman and based on a pitch by Jason Filardi;[28] the plot involves an adult who is transformed into a 17-year old (to be played by Efron).[29] 17 Again will be released in 2009.[17]

In early 2008, Efron was cast as 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 is currently set for release in 2009.

Efron will reprise his role as Troy in High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which is scheduled to be released on October 24, 2008.

Efron is also scheduled to star in Paramount's musical remake of the film Footloose;[30] he has said that he would like to add his "own little bit of flair" to the role originated by Kevin Bacon.[6]