18 years after High School Musical was released, Zac Efron shares behind-the-scenes memories from making the Disney Channel Original movie. Efron’s role as star basketball player and aspiring singer Troy Bolton paved the way for his ongoing successful career, performing in projects ranging from the R-rated comedy Neighbors to the drama The Iron Claw. High School Musical became a full-fledged franchise with multiple sequels and a Disney+ spinoff series, titled High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

In a Vanity Fair video, Efron rewatches a scene from the original High School Musical for the first time in years. The scene features the song “Get’cha Head in the Game” as Troy and his Wildcat teammates simultaneously sing and practice basketball. Efron reveals his fond memories of filming this scene and of the entire movie. Check out his comments and the video below:

First thing that comes to mind is I really drilled all those shots. There’s no CGI in there. I don’t think we had the budget for that. So that makes me feel good. That just takes me back to where all of us were at. All the young men on that team, we were so young and so incredibly motivated. Not many people know this, but, you know, High School Musical was a made for TV movie and it was very small. So we had a very condensed shooting schedule and very limited rehearsal time. Our choreographer, Chucky, is actually in that shot, and Kenny Ortega had pretty big ambitions for this movie. But I think he was pleasantly surprised when all the boys were excited to not only fulfill what he wanted, but to take it one step further.

This whole sequence with the basketballs and the dribbling in that movie, we started practicing with basketballs, and I think we might’ve practiced it for two days prior to doing all that in sync. We probably had two, three hour rehearsals with basketballs. After five takes, we nailed it. We got it all in one. They didn’t cut from start to finish, and all of us were blown away. I think that was the first time all of us went, “Is this gonna be cool?” This felt really cool. It was a really special moment, and I’m still just proud of all those guys for doing that. It was hard. You can’t predict where a basketball is going. A lot of people got hit in the face.

I see I look so light on my feet in that. Oh my gosh. Oh wow. I love you, Kenny. I miss you guys, man that’s bringing it all back. I haven’t watched that in years. That’s crazy.

High School Musical Was A Precursor To Zac Efron’s Tremendous Range

He’s Now Well-Versed In Musicals, Comedies, Voicework, And Drama

While High School Musical is often dismissed as a cheesy Disney Channel Original movie, it proved early in Efron’s career that he had an impressive range as a performer. He effectively balanced the athleticism, charisma, and leading man energy needed for the role of Troy, some of which is showcased in the clip Efron rewatches. His musical talent made him a natural fit in several movie musicals later in his career, including Hairspray and The Greatest Showman.

Efron proved he wasn’t just a movie musical star, though, with his comedic skills gradually gaining more recognition with his roles in Neighbors and its sequels, Dirty Grandpa, and Baywatch. His comedic and voice talents translated to doing voicework in Robot Chicken, The Lorax, and Scoob! An eerie turn as serial killer Ted Bundy in Netflix’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile and the emotional intensity and depth he brought as Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw further demonstrated his range.

Given the diversity of the roles he has played and the talents he has demonstrated, Efron has undeniably achieved a great deal so far in his career, making it all the more intriguing to see what his next projects will be. The majority of his work has been in film, which could make it intriguing to see him star in a television series. It could be a musical, comedy, drama, or animated series as he has ample experience in all these areas, with a foundation that he established in High School Musical.

Source: Vanity Fair