Nurturing an impressive body of work that encompasses both film and television, Zac Efron has proven to be one of Hollywood’s most sought-after talents. Efron became a household name with the launch of the 2006 Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel phenomenon High School Musical as Troy Bolton. He reprised his role as Troy Bolton, head of the basketball team, in High School Musical 2, which broke cable TV records garnering 17.5 million viewers. He also starred in the Disney feature film High School Musical 3: Senior Year, the third installment of the extremely successful High School Musical franchise. HSM3 set a box office record as the highest grossing opening weekend total for a musical. He also starred in the box-office smash summer film Hairspray, which won the Critics’ Choice award for Best Ensemble.
Continuing his box-office breaking records with musicals, Efron gives an all-out different kind of performance in his latest movie The Greatest Showman with Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Keala Settle and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II directed by Michael Gracey who makes his feature film debut.
Though much of The Greatest Showman is drawn from the outlines of P.T. Barnum’s life, the fictional characters of Efron and Zendaya bring in fresh points of view. Carlyle also intrigued him. “Phillip Carlyle is someone who has grown up very privileged, but he’s not happy where he’s at and he feels very sort of caged in and jaded,” Efron explains. “Then he meets Barnum and he sees that P.T. just doesn’t care what people think. It’s liberating for Phillip and the beginning of a great friendship.”
For Efron, Carlyle’s first experience in Barnum’s circus is one of a man having the haze lifted from his eyes. It becomes more than an epiphany when his eyes meet those of aerialist Anne Wheeler (Zendaya). The character gave Efron the chance to get caught up in the kind of cinematic moment that most inspires him. “Falling in love in a musical number on camera is one of my absolute favorite things to do in the world,” he confesses. “I’m not ashamed to say it. I know it’s pretend but when you get to live in that kind of moment for a scene or two, it feels amazing. It brings you back to Gene Kelly and Singin’ In The Rain. Are there any better ways to express true love than in song?”