Originally appeared on E! Online
The time has come to celebrate the patron saint of abs: Zac Efron.
One of our favorite millennial heartthrobs turns 37 on Oct. 18, which means two things. 1. Yes, time just slapped us all in the face. 2. A rewatch of a favorite movie starring Efron is in order.
But which one to choose? Of course, you can pick from his repertoire of musical moments, like Hairspray or The Greatest Showman.
Or perhaps you’d rather go with High School Musical 3 or 17 Again, both of which highlight his physical prowess. Then again, his comedic chops are on full display in Neighbors and Dirty Grandpa. Range, thy name is Zachary David Alexander Efron!
Trying to decide which Efron movie is the best sparked a conversation that incited a friendly yet fierce debate in the E! News offices. The takes were hotter than the man himself without his shirt on, which, you know, we’ve featured just maybe once or twice on our Instagram account. (You’re welcome, by the way.)
And so, we decided to do what any sane person with a 401K would do: We ranked all of his feature film outings.
Zac Efron’s Relationship History
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For the record, the man himself ranks his most recent effort—the June rom-com A Family Affair—as one of his fave film-making experience.
“I got to play, like, the worst version of somebody experiencing fame and sort of the fear and the imposter syndrome that comes with that,” he told Vanity Fair of portraying a movie star who hooks up with the mom (Nicole Kidman) of his personal assistant (Joey King).
“One the one hand, I’m still, like, starstruck every time I see her,” he added of his physical scenes with Kidman. “Even to this day. I really just am in a sense just always going to be in permanent awe of her. I don’t know, I’ve got a deep trust and, like, respect for her that I think just makes it fun.”
Similarly, we were up to the task of sifting through Efron’s film oeuvre to pull out some of the highlights. Yes, it was a tough job, but someone had to do it. Here’s our official ranking of every Efron movie, from worst to best.
WORST: We Are Your Friends
Sorry for reminding you that this 2015 movie about Efron as a DJ exists!
The Paperboy
The subtitle for this 2012 release should be the one in which Nicole Kidman pees on Zefron. Hey, if anyone’s gonna pee on you, at least let it be an Oscar winner.
Dirty Grandpa
Honestly, we are still trying to figure out which member of Robert De Niro‘s family begged him to do to this 2016 comedy in order to get close to Efron.
New Year’s Eve
Like most other New Year’s Eve celebrations in our lives, this one was underwhelming, but at least Efron and Michelle Pfeiffer had the most compelling storyline in this star-studded snoozefest?
Firestarter
While this may be a remake of the 1984 horror movie, getting to see Efron play a dad for the first time was a dream come true for many geriatric millennials who doodled “Mrs. Efron” on their notebooks in school. Unfortunately, seeing that fantasy come to fruition did not a good film make.
Baywatch
Listen, this should’ve been our dream bae-watch, given how he basically spends the whole movie shirtless and it’s literally for the storyline of it all. But while we expected this 2017 summer flick to be a romp, it was more of a womp womp. Still, we’ll always have those abs.
Me and Orson Welles
A sure-fire way to try and get young people to spend their babysitting money on a festival movie about the director of Citizen Kane? Cast Efron in the lead role. Alas, the 2008 period drama only made $2.3 million, but did earn the young actor some indie cred in his post-Disney days.
Gold
Critics commended Efron’s committed performance in this dystopian action thriller, but sadly, it failed to strike its namesake with audiences. Also, spoiler alert: Our man gets eaten by a pack of wild dogs. Rough.
The Greatest Beer Run Ever
In a pretty-much-true 2022 story that sounds unbelievable, a ’60s-era Efron dons a sweet ‘stache and plays a Merchant Mariner that treks around the world to deliver American beers to his buddies fighting in Vietnam. Sure, it’s a somewhat ludicrous premise, but Efron still charms.
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
While we initially RSVP’d “no” to this forgettable 2016 comedy, we are kind of OK crashin’ it from time to time.
That Awkward Moment
Given that it starred Efron, Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller, we had high hopes for this 2014 comedy. But it ended up being kind of meh and was the one that kicked off a string of (the previously ranked) bro-y roles for the star on the heels of his celebrated turn in Neighbors. At least it was the least bad of that frat pack?
Ricky Stanicky
A fun romp that didn’t get the appreciation it deserved, this 2024 comedy is an enjoyable watch. (A pretty solid love story for our boy as well!) However, the flick is really a star vehicle for John Cena, with Efron providing a deft turn as supporting actor.
A Family Affair
Efron goes meta as a satirical version of himself in this 2024 Netflix rom-com about a movie star who hooks up with his assistant’s mom. While his chemistry with Kidman feels a bit forced, he and Joey King have a fun celebrity-assistant dynamic.
Charlie St. Cloud
We’ve done a lot of things in the name of our love for this man but seeing this kinda weird 2010 drama ranks pretty high on the list!
The Lucky One
Efron and Nicholas Sparks finally merged their respective powers in this 2012 romantic drama. Hmm…we saw this movie in theaters and yet are struggling to remember fully what it was about. That shower scene though? That we remember very well.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
Our man, who also served as an executive producer, delivered a very good, very charming, very creepy performance as the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy. But overall, this 2019 Netflix drama failed to make as much of an impact as we thought it would when the project was first announced and feels a little too Lifetime movie-of-the-week.
Neighbors and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
Efron experienced a career adrenaline shot thanks to Seth Rogen with this 2014 comedy. Playing a fraternity president, the actor utilized his underrated comedic chops, charisma and chiseled abs, going on to steal almost every scene he was in. His performance in the 2016 sequel was equally as commanding.
Hairspray
In his first major movie following his breakout success with High School Musical, Efron took on another singing role in the 2007 remake of Hairspray, playing teen heartthrob Link Larkin. Casting was perfect and we’ll never forget his Link wink.
The Greatest Showman
After a decade-long drought, Efron finally returned to the world of the movie musical in 2017’s The Greatest Showman and what a comeback it was. Just skip to 3:43 on “The Greatest Show” from the soundtrack if you want to feel your life change. And yes, that is, in fact, exactly when Efron takes over lead vocals from Hugh Jackman on the song. Plus, his chemistry with Zendaya? This is the greatest showmance!
17 Again
At our funeral, feel free to press play on the scene in which a pitch-perfect Efron—playing a younger version of Matthew Perry‘s character—reads the letter to Scarlett (Leslie Mann) in this 2009 rom-com.
The Iron Claw
While in the end, Efron didn’t nab the speculated Oscar nod, he was certainly gripping in this 2023 drama depicting the tragic-but-true story of the Von Erich family and their quest to solidify their professional wrestling empire. Even amongst a star-studded cast, his gritty portrayal of Kevin Von Erich is notable for way more than just his body transformation and proves just how underappreciated his range as an actor is.
BEST: High School Musical 3
Before you yell louder than Sharpay Evans after discovering she landed a supporting role, the first two installments technically qualify as TV movies, so only 2006’s HSM 3 made our list. But oh, what a performance it is from Efron in his final outing as Troy Bolton, the role that made him the gold-standard of millennial heartthrobs.
(Originally published on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 3:00 a.m. PT)