MAIN Art &... Pop Culture Actors Zac Efron

Born Zachary David Alexander Efron on October 18, 1987, Zac Efron is one of the hottest young actors around today, due in large part to a starring role in Disney's High School Musical and a previous attention-getting performance in the WB series Summerland.

Growing up in San Luis Obispo, California, Zac Efron's parents recognized their young son's singing talent early on and encouraged him to perform on stage.

At age eleven, he was already appearing in a local production of Gypsy, and went on to appear in other roles in such regional theater productions as Peter Pan, The Music Man, and Mame.

By his early teens, Efron turned his attention to television with guest appearances on various TV shows including ER and The Guardian. Soon after, his breakthrough performance — that began with a guest spot on the WB series Summerland — eventually led to his being assigned a place as a regular cast member in the role of Cameron Bale.

Later cancelled, Summerland led to a variety of other roles for Zac Efron, who next appeared in featured roles in such TV shows as The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigation Service and CSI: Miami.

Critical notice came in 2003 when Efron took the starring role in Miracle Run, a Lifetime TV movie in which he played an autistic teen, a role that won him a nomination for best performance by a supporting actor at the Young Artist Awards.

2006 has finally seen Efron's career skyrocket - with his starring role as the singing superjock Troy Bolton in the Disney Channel's TV movie High School Musical.

Alongside other cast members Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel and Corbin Bleu, the role has provided Efron with a prime spotlight for his acting and singing talents. The role has also secured a place on the Billboard Hot 100, with such spinoff hits as Get'cha Head in the Game, Breaking Free, Start of Something New and What I've Been Looking For: Reprise.

In August, the young actor was crowned "The New American Heart Throb" by Rolling Stone magazine with a front cover and feature story.

Off the set, Efron's own high school days are coming to an end as he headed for USC in 2007. In 2008 he appeared in his first major movie role as Link Larkin in the movie version of the Broadway musical Hairspray starring Queen Latifah, John Travolta and Amanda Bynes. He later followed that with a starring role in 17 Again.

In 2009, the young actor created a stir on the Web with the release of a photo shoot set on a beach with a nude model for Interview magazine. Later in the year, he is also slated to appear in Me and Orson Welles opposite Claire Danes, and on the small screen in April as host of Saturday Night Live.

Charismatic - Huge Zac Efron fan site with the latest news, rumors and gossip, picture galleries including magazine photos, candid & publicity shots, bio, facts & trivia on the actor's life.

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Zac Efron - A complete biography from Wikipedia including career highlights, movie & TV roles, pictures & related links.

Zac Efron - Mini biography & vital stats, career info & trivia, photo gallery, complete filmography and projects in production, from IMDb.

It's My Life - Celebs - Zac Efron - Interview with PBS Kids Go! on the actor's appearance in High School Musical, including photos and answers to questions posed by visitors.

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