Zac Efron for Backstage


Zac Efron photographed by Henny Garfunkle for November 2012 issue of Backstage magazine.


Here’s what Zac shared with Backstage.
On what makes him work hard
I might not be the greatest actor, but I walk in to every project willing to work hard. 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. 
On his upcoming movie 'At Any Price'
The theme of the movie is get big or get out. That’s sort of the way I describe how a lot of people in Hollywood approach their careers—take the bigger movie for more money that people will see. Take the franchise, the part in your wheelhouse. But that’s not my goal. Instead of get big or get out, my goal is to get good and stay. 
On his role in The Paperboy
It’s crucial for me to be finding roles that I don’t necessarily have the answers to. I’m proud to say I was courageous enough to step into a part I didn’t fully understand and followed my director blindly. 
On his first professional audition for the 2003 film "Peter Pan
It was one girl in a room with a camera. I don’t know how else to say it, but I f***ed up. It was a turning point. I had to ask myself, Was I going to let it get to me, or was I going to move forward? 
On taking a role in a franchise
It’s not that I’m opposed to doing a big-budget action movie. But it has to be the right project. I don’t know that I’ve earned the right to hold a gun, if that makes sense. I need to pay my dues.