If we’ve learned anything about the High School Musical franchise, it’s that we should never underestimate its power to launch one of its stars into the Hollywood stratosphere. Olivia Rodrigo went from television starlet to global darling after the release of her song “driver’s license” back in January of 2021, a phenomenon that might not have occurred had she not been cast as a lead in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Vanessa Hudgens had a successful singing career of her own after starring as Gabriella in the original film, not to mention some serious dramatic roles (Spring Breakers, anyone?).
And then there’s Zac Efron, who became an instant celebrity and teen idol after playing Troy Bolton in the first HSM. He went on to prove himself as a true song-and-dance man in two HSM sequels as well as Hairspray and The Greatest Showman. Not wanting to box himself in, he revealed himself to be a great dramatic actor as well, tearing at our heartstrings in Charlie St. Cloud and We Are Your Friends. During all of this, he managed to maintain his status as a sex symbol in comedies like Neighbors and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates.
Efron, who recently made his TikTok debut with Jessica Alba while on the set of a Dubai tourism ad, will be turning 34 this year and has recently been slowing down on the acting to participate in other kinds of projects. He recently travelled the world with wellness expert Darin Olien in an effort to find more sustainable ways of living, which he documented in the Netflix reality show Down to Earth with Zac Efron. The tourism campaign he’s starring in with Alba is aimed at promoting Expo 2020, which was previously delayed by Covid-19 and is now opening in Dubai this October. He even recently sold his Los Angeles home and moved to Australia.
This is not to say that Efron has stopped acting altogether. Even though the last major film he appeared in was the animated family film Scoob, his roster of upcoming projects includes the survival thriller Gold, a remake of Three Men and a Baby, and an adventure series fittingly titled Killing Zac Efron. To say the guy is busy is an understatement, and it’s all thanks to that cheesy little musical about a jock who just wanted to play basketball and sing his heart out.
Efron is the prime example of an A-list leading man except for one tiny detail: his height. If he looks tall on camera, it’s a trick! He’s actually a bit shorter than you might think.
How Tall is Zac Efron?
Efron is 5 feet 8 inches tall, which might sound like an average height to most, but when you compare his height to that of other leading men like Chris Hemsworth (6’ 3”) and Dwayne Johnson (6’ 5”), Efron is actually on the shorter end of the leading man spectrum. Luckily for him, this doesn’t matter as much on camera as it might if he were solely a stage performer, where height is much more of a determining factor when it comes to casting.
Despite Efron’s recent absence from the movie spotlight, Marvel fans still have their fingers crossed that he’ll be cast as Johnny Storm in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. If real-life couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt are also cast like fans are hoping, Efron won’t have to worry about being shorter than Krasinski (6’ 3”). He’ll be too busy flying around Captain Marvel-style and spontaneously combusting to rub in our faces just how hot he is.
