OlderZac Efron Covers ‘GQ’ May 2009
A shirtless Zac Efron holds himself up on a parking meter in this sexy new shot for the upcoming May 2009 issue of GQ.
The 21-year-old actor, who hosted Saturday Night Live this past weekend, is described by the mag as having “muscle-ropy arms”, “Japanimation-character bangs” and being “cute as a damn button.” Here’s what Zac opened up about:
On doing community-theater productions as a kid: “It was the worst possible thing you could do in high school. Kids who are in musical theater tend to be self-confident in a quirky kind of way, and when kids who are really self-conscious see somebody doing that kind of thing, they try to bring them down. I used to do random things, man. When I was a kid? I dyed my hair silver, to look like Sisqó in the ‘Thong Song’ video. I just didn’t give a f—. I didn’t care.”
On the entertainment business: “It’s crazy, all the stuff that happens down there. It’s the American dream. I mean, it’s beautiful. But it’s so f—ed up. Up here, everything’s green. And down there, it’s crazy.”
On why he chose to do 17 Again, which opens this Friday (April 17): “It’s very transitional, y’know? I didn’t wanna alienate the fans that had been around for so long. The fans, who’ve been around for so many years.”
On the rumors that he wore false eyelashes: “If somebody can find any photo that
shows me wearing false eyelashes, I will give them a f—ing million dollars. That’s bulls—. (pauses) You know what, dude? A couple of times, when I was young, and I didn’t know what the f— I was doing—it’s just what happens. Somebody’s there, and it’s their job. And
they load you up with makeup. They don’t do the girlie thing, but they, y’know, cover your zits. It didn’t come from a self-conscious place—it was just what everyone did. And since then, people just constantly think I’m wearing makeup. It’s a recurring theme. But f—, man. I have never worn false eyelashes in my entire life. (blinks a couple of times) That’s all me.”
On rumors that he and girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens were getting married in Kauai (he attended his manager’s wedding): “That was such bull—. I’m definitely not getting married. In this business, you’re either getting married or they want you to be pregnant. I’m not getting married until I’m 40. If ever. The thought never crossed my mind.”
Check out the full article at GQ.com and be sure to read the autograph story!
339 Comments
Rob Pattinson’s GQ cover was infinity times better.
AK, why is everyone trying to portray him as this ladies man? First with the naked model and now this? Maybe his team is advising these magazines to portray this image? Is this going to make him more in demand in hollywood? I don’t understand this logic. Someone please explain.
I guess I am naive in the fact that when an interviewer asks you a question and they put your response in quotes then that is truly your response, I never took it to mean you lied or didn’t give your true views. Why answer the question at all if your not going to give your true view. Or you can say you have no comment as Vanessa often does. Again I just think he has been saying a few comments lately that I did not like as I stated above in #141
He is swearing much to look like he is more of a grown up, and his look on this shoot, does nothing good for him, really not interesting at all, what is GQ doing putting on the cover Zac Efreon??
Gosh, what a ridiculous kid! His mom should wash his mouth with soap! filthy, no class what-so-ever!
#154 They put him on the cover for a few reasons.
#1 He’s one of the hottest male young stars out there right now
#2 He has a movie coming out this week.
yeah he’s trying WAY TOO HARD to fit into that GQ demographic..
it makes sense.. he went into an interview recently and was like ‘i can’t figure out what you want me to say’ to the interviewer..
you can tell he says the things he does based on who’s interviewing him..
but seriously. all the f-cks isn’t necessary.. he’s trying hard to look cool and look older by swearing and it’s not working.. it makes him seem like a freaking wannabee.
#155 You want to see someone with no class. Lindsay Lohan would be a great example or Paris Hilton. So what the guy said the F word. He’s not the only guy to say it in an interview. Robert Pattinson said in it his GQ interview. He said he F*cked Joe Jonas. I didn’t hear anyone saying he was class-less, people just laughed at it. Get over it he’s human just like you.
goh. hes a bludy psyco isn’t he?
so… since when does he cuss that freaking much in interviews? i mean, not even stars with terrible mouths do that. saying the f-word as much as he did in that interview and all those twilight people do just makes you sound like a moron. if you can’t come up with a better word to explain yourself, you need help.
I feel like he or, I guess probably, his PR people are trying to force this transition to adult-Zac-serious-ahctor too fast and he’s losing himself in the process. He’s all over the map these days, each interview is a different spin with a new personality attempting to appeal to a different audience. He’s doing the same thing that Tisdale is doing but on a much more global scale with more outlets at his disposal.
What he’s doing now in interviews seems to run contrary to what he’s said for years, that he doesn’t want people to know him for his personality or interviews but the body of his work. I wonder if it’s frustrating or scary for his family and friends to see him publicly struggle this way, because every person that’s worked with him has always complimented on how wonderful he is, how steady and sure of himself he always has been, wise beyond his years and now he seems to be like a fish out of water and doesn’t know which way to go in terms of how to conduct his PR.
I’m sure it’s got to be frustrating that he’s not getting the types of roles that he wants right now. With that said, he and his PR people may have to scale back their expectations or timeline a bit. It’ll happen when it happens and it will happen for him because he’s got charm, talent and a built in fanbase to carry him, that is if he doesn’t drive some of them off first. Forcing this transition will end up backfiring on him IMO.
Leo struggled for how many years before he got taken seriously? Heck, he had to personally work and lobby to get that Howard Hughes film in production because no one would take him seriously and that took him like a decade to do. Johnny Depp has had a varied body of work but at 21 no one was taking him seriously as an actor either. Even Shia paid his dues for a few years, and not just with Even Stevens, before Transformers made him A-list.
Zac is 21 but looks young and can easily play 17. That’s automatically going to push him out of the running for a lot of roles that actors like Leo, Chris Pine, Ryan Reynolds, Depp, and the other A-list actors these days are being offered. I’m not saying stick to tween or teen fluff films only, actors like Leo and Johnny, that he seems to want to pattern his career after, had to take the commercial films at times but always made sure to make indie character pieces even if it meant taking a pay cut or the film ends up playing in half the theaters a release normally would.
This hard PR push that Zac’s team has had going on for a few months now is wearing thin and if he loses part of his current fanbase before capturing a new fanbase, this entire PR personality-shift will be for nothing. It’s getting to the point where it’s hard to know which personality is really his these days.
Is it the witty yet slightly dorky guy in his interviews with Tom Lennon, the nice guy that loves the Lakers and washes dishes at Adam Shankman’s house? Is it this guy that appeared in GQ? Is it the player that’s linked up to women around the world who seems to reject commitment of any kind while having a committed girlfriend at home? His personality was so consistent for so long, it’s jarring to see all of these new personalities appear. I want to continue liking him but he’s making it hard these days. LOL
He just says F*** alot because he just wants to seem grown up. Come on dude you chose Disney too bad. You don’t have to swear to make a point. You’ll never be at the height of real talented actors like Leonardo Dicaprio.
His older brother already did a 50’s photo shoot.
Either there is a whole new side to Zefron that we’ve somehow missed over the past 4 years or this interview is a fake.
actually, maybe he’s trying to be “robert pattinson-esque” because he’s losing some of his teen fans to robert…
either way, the reason people don’t flip over robert pattinson cussing is because he’s done it the whole time. he’s cussed in almost every interview he’s taken. zac efron has never done that before. so for him to go from never cussing to saying the f-word like 5 or 6 times in ONE interview is a little too much to handle. it doesn’t seem like him and someone should tell him saying curse words doesn’t make you a “grown-up serious actor”
Togo - You said everything so perfectly, I again hope someone on his team is listening.
he sounds very stupid. He talks about not wanting to alienate his fans that have been with him for so long. ok well most of those fans are kids so you should try to be a better role model and not curse so freaking much. he just sounds like he is trying to be so cool. and not getting married untill hes 40? if ever? he’s trying to sound like a player and look cool. which is obviously not true since hes been with vanessa for so long.
what a dumb ass he just lost me as a fan now im def not going to see the movie.
grow up zac
I understand this was for work but do you guys really think at 21 this guy has never said the F word before? Get real. Why cares if you worked for Disney. Most of those Disney stars are not as sweet and little kid like as Disney would like to make you think.
I don�t get why Zac is being attacked over this article. Many celebrities reinvent themselves for interviews depending on the publication. Jennifer Aniston is usually seen as the girl-next-door, yet she posed nude for GQ a few months ago. Does that make her a bad person?
Just because Zac is trying to be edgier for select publications like GQ and Interview magazines does not make him a lost soul who is having trouble figuring out where he fits in. These interviews show he is savvy enough to cater to the audiences that these particular publications appeal to. That�s called marketing oneself, which is needed in the cut-throat entertainment business.
Zac is an adult and doesn�t need to go back to mom and dad to regroup. He�s doing just fine and seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Besides, actions speak louder than words: He�s been in a committed relationship for nearly four years with the same person and has not been in any trouble with the law. Can�t say the same for some of Zac�s peers in the industry.
Zoey
I agree with the swearing thing not making him seem grown up. He used to be quite thoughtful and articulate in his interviews which made him appear more grown up than some of the GQ and other adult interviews have. LOL
I do disagree with you regarding Zac’s career. I think Zac could have a career like Leo, I think he has the talent and drive to have that type of career, I just don’t know if he has the patience and fortitude that Leo had. Leo’s personality has been consistent since day 1, at times he had to be forced into doing PR, interviews, red carpet stuff because he shunned doing that type of thing, he hated doing it, he wasn’t comfortable doing it and I think that’s aided him a lot over the years. It’s made him appear very grounded, whether that’s really true or not. That’s the public perception at least.
So many have talked about Zac following Leo’s career, which is fine I guess (I think it would be better for him to have his own career path but it’s his career) but I think what interviewers and possibly even Zac/his PR team overlook is that Leo didn’t just earn A-list critically acclaimed actor status over night. It took Leo years and years to be taken seriously as an actor and major player. He’s still not taken seriously by some and he’s been around the business for 15 or 20 years now and is in his early 30’s.
AK I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Maybe it’s because I’m not exactly one of his “tween” fans and isn’t a 13 year old girl in middle school. I see nothing wrong with this interview or the way he has been carring himself. Have you seen his TV interviews? Guy knows what he’s doing and knows where he wants to go. He’s got a good head on his shoulders.
What a douche. He’s not even cute. FUGLY loser.
ak - I don’t think Zac came across as edgier as you seem to think. Cursing alot in my book does not make you edgy. And re-inventing yourself as a player was not quite what I thought he would go for. This is just my opinion.
#169
Sorry, I doubt anyone who read the WHOLE interview including the way the interviewer described Zac , will call Zac edgy or savvy (please check the dictionary meaning of the words).
He was presented as a young man trying hard to be and say what he thinks he needs to be and say. It wasn’t hinted at in the interview, it was spelt out categorically. You might want to go back and read the whole interview.
#173
Cursing a lot doesn’t make you a bad person either. Zac’s fanbase is mostly younger females. So to appeal to a mostly male audience that GQ does, it makes total sense to position himself as not being the squeeky clean Disney boy. And words on paper can be more easily misconstrued/edited to the way the reporter wants to portray him. Take a look at his TV interviews from NY today (The Today Show and The View). You’ll see that he’s still the same goofy, adorable Zac that fans fell in love with. Cut him some slack.
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