'High School Musical' Star Speaks About His Upcoming MovieTuesday, April 15, 2008
Kris De LeonZac Efron has a lot of movie projects on his plate this year. But before fans get to see the 20-year-old actor in High School Musical 3: Senior Year and in Me and Orson Welles, he'll be gracing the silver screen this summer as part of the film 17 Again.
As reported previously, 17 Again is a Big-like comedy film from New Line Cinema starring Matthew Perry (Friends). In the movie, Efron plays a younger version of Perry's character Mike O'Donnell as he gets transported back to his 17-year-old body.
“The idea of going back to high school as an adult is incredible…until you actually get there! It's like this crazy twilight zone of adolescent insecurities and people trying to grow up and figure out what they want to do with their lives. It's crazy in the movie,” the High School Musical star said.
This is the first time Efron played a 40-year-old adult and according to the actor, he gives depth to the role by looking at it from his father's perspective.
"Everything you do, you have to kind of view it from your dad's perspective," Efron said, revealing how he got in the head of an adult for the role. "I tried to do a few things that I learned from my dad...things that he thinks are cool but are really dorky. That seems to be working pretty well," he said.
As the young Mike O'Donnell, who gets his chance to go back to high school to change his life, it's the perfect way for Efron to shift from tween heartthrob to adult thesp. This is especially true given that the character offers him a shot at growing up without the side-effects of actually growing up, according to the High School Musical star.
17 Again, which also includes Leslie Mann (The 40 Year Old Virgin), Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Sterling Knight (The Closer), hits theaters on August 15.
From Buddy TV