Zachary David Alexander Efron (born October 18, 1987, in Arroyo Grande, California) is an American actor who rose to fame as a teen idol for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the High School Musical film series (2006–2008), though his singing in the first film was actually dubbed by Drew Seeley because Efron is a baritone and the part was written for a tenor. Following that breakthrough, he starred in a string of popular films including Hairspray (2007), 17 Again (2009), Neighbors (2014), Baywatch (2017), and The Greatest Showman (2017), while also taking on dramatic roles like serial killer Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) and wrestler Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw (2023). In 2021, Efron won a Daytime Emmy Award for hosting the Netflix travel series Down to Earth with Zac Efron (2020–2022), and in 2023 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Raised in a middle-class family with a Jewish surname but an agnostic upbringing, he honed his craft in local theaters and was accepted to the University of Southern California after graduating high school in 2006, though he chose not to enroll.