Zac Efron has been spending a lot of time in hotels. The Toronto International Film Festival, where he was promoting the gothic potboiler “The Paperboy” and the family drama “At Any Price,” required him to jet from location to location for interviews and photo shoots. “I think I have seen every hotel in Toronto today,” he says from his seat in the hotel bar. “I could write a guidebook.” Still, the exhausted Efron is gracious and gregarious, stopping to pose for photos and sign autographs for anyone who asks—and a lot of people ask.

Spend any time with Efron and it becomes clear that the burgeoning movie star does not have an equally burgeoning ego. “I might not be the greatest actor, but I walk in to every project willing to work hard,” he says. “There are a lot of people who can slide on talent their whole lives; they’re just naturally gifted. I’ve never considered myself one of those people. I enjoy outworking the opposition.”

Efron is savvy about his shot at longevity in a fickle business. Unlike many actors who hit it big in their teen years, he has kept his head down and concentrated on the work. There have been no public scandals, no drunken outbursts, no reports of bad behavior on set. Efron is wise beyond his 24 years, saying, “I know I’ve been lucky. But it’s what you do with that luck afterwards that really defines whether you stick around.”

Read full article at Backstage.com

MAGAZINES & SCANS > BACKSTAGE (NOVEMBER 2012)