TRENDING

 

Kelly White: Hi Zac! What would you say most sets Hairspray apart from High School Musical?

Zac Efron: I think there’s so many differences. First and foremost, I think it’s the style of music. I think there’s no hip-hop. You know hip hop wasn’t even invented yet and so the music and dancing are very typical of the 60’s, which is iconic in some way, you know, kids are gonna have to go back in time with us and see what was cool back then. And cool in the 60’s was very, very different from what is cool today. So it’s really fun to go back and forth and really play two completely different characters.

Kelly White: So you really think the biggest difference is the era?

Zac Efron: Yeah, definitely. I think the biggest difference is gonna be the era. I think – and the fact that it’s on a big screen too.

Kelly White: Do you think there were any issues that were addressed in Hairspray that affected kids in the ‘60s as well as in the kids today?

Zac Efron: Yeah, there’s so many underlying themes but I think the main message is just to follow your dreams, you know, and you could get in a whole lot of trouble for doing it. I mean like Tracy does in this movie.

You could nearly be put in prison for it – well actually that’s bad advice but things get pretty bad for her but in the end, you know, it all works out and she has her dreams come true. So it’s really just, you know, keep on your goals, and I think that the rest will work itself out.

Kelly White: Now I have talked in the past to some of the HSM kids and they all say that you guys are really, really, great friends.

Zac Efron: Yeah.

Kelly White: What about the Hairspray cast?

Zac Efron: Yeah the Hairspray cast, we’re all relatively close in age. When there aren’t a whole lot of people your own age on set, you instantly become friends with the kids that are around you and I happened to get lucky and have, once again, a cast of smart, talented intervals.

Kelly White: So you made some friends for life?

Zac Efron: Yeah.

Kelly White: You think you’ll all keep in touch?

Zac Efron: Uh-huh.

Kelly White: Was it worth missing the live tour of HSM?

Zac Efron: Absolutely.

Kelly White: Do you have a girlfriend?

Zac Efron: No, no girlfriend.
Kelly White: Do you have a dream-leading lady?

Zac Efron: A dream-leading lady? Probably like a young Catherine Zeta Jones or like Selma Hayek or someone like that.
Kelly White: Okay. If you were to have a girlfriend, what qualities would you look for in a girl?

Zac Efron: Just someone who’s able to laugh a lot, you know, and I find I can get through a lot of stuff in life by just going with it them and being easy going and laughing. And – I think someone’s who’s passionate about their career and where they’re going in life. I think that’s very important, someone who likes to have fun. I could go for days, but yeah those are some general things.

Kelly White: Do you have a hard time telling what girls like you for you or who like you for your fame?

Zac Efron: No I think the guideline is pretty strong. You know, a lot of my friends that already existed, I’m trying to keep. And most of the new girls pending on how, you know, were accountancies, you know, were relatives or something that’s completely different but you know girls that I’m meeting for the first time – it’s fun if they haven’t seen High School Musical.

Kelly White: Right

Zac Efron: But, you know, not to say that I don’t love hanging out with my fans. I am so lucky and blessed to have the best fans in the world and they’re so supportive. It’s amazing how much support I’ve gotten over the past year. So, you know, I don’t know. I’m just in a great spot. I’m loving it.
Kelly White: So why don’t you have a girlfriend? It is because you just don’t have time?

Zac Efron: With working so much, there’s very little time to devote to a relationship. I mean, I barely have time to do what I wanna do let alone have a girlfriend, you know. So I mean and there’s girls everywhere at 19, it would be too hard to settle down and have one girl.

Kelly White: But you do date?

Zac Efron: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Kelly White: So how are you most like Link?

Zac Efron: That's tough. Link is kind of – although he comes through in the end, at the beginning he’s very shallow and – not self-absorbed, he just knows that he’s the coolest kid in school, you know. It’s a lot different than anything I’ve ever played before. How am I most like him though, we have similar taste in girls.
Kelly White: Tell me something about yourself that you’ve never told anyone.

Zac Efron: Let me see – I don’t know. My middle finger is fatter than my pointer finger, I guess.
Kelly White: Hmm, that’s interesting. So, Taylor Parks from Hairspray told me that you can’t keep a secret.

Zac Efron: Is that what she said?
Kelly White: Yeah.

Zac Efron: I think she can’t keep a secret. What does she say that I told?
Kelly White: About her falling flat on her face during a double dance.

It was so funny. I mean she handled it really well but – you know, she was taking one for the team.

7/20/2007 3:47:00 PM