SOMETHING WICKED

ZAC EFRON TALKS ABOUT THE STRESS – AND SUCCESS – OF PLAYING TED BUNDY IN NETFLIX MOVIE EXTREMELY WICKED, SHOCKINGLY EVIL AND VILE

Furthering our obsession with true crime, Netflix’s Ted Bundy biopic (streaming now), starring Zac Efron, 31, follows the serial killer’s personal life and relationship with unsuspecting girlfriend Liz (Lily Collins). Though it rehashes events that have become folklore, Efron’s embodiment of the murderer is worth the second look. What did you know about Bundy’s crimes before this movie?

I knew the name was synonymous with evil. I knew that when I was growing up you would hear people reference him in an ominous, eerie way. And I knew the look on my mom’s face when

I told her that I was considering playing him – it was not a good look. But once I told her that the movie was not a

depiction of evil and atrocities, and that I wasn’t necessarily exploring that side of it, I think everyone was more at ease. How does true crime fit into your pop culture diet?

I love movies like No Country for Old Men, [set] back in the day when there was less technology. This [film] is a look into who Ted Bundy was, but not the way that I think would have been the easy way, which was to talk about the murders. It’s really from Liz’s perspective and gets deep into [Bundy’s] psyche and what it was like to lead [two] completely different lives. Given the heaviness of the material, what was the vibe like on set?

Let’s just say it was different than The Greatest Showman. The demeanour was very thoughtful and serious. And you know what, the process of filmmaking is always, always an adventure. I was with careful people, but I continue to push myself to try new things and push the envelope with an acting career that I kind of stumbled into. How do you possibly decompress from a role like this?

I did breathing and meditation. I think that’s the only way. I really love TM – transcendental meditation – and I did it on the way home. Not while driving. [Laughs] But when you’re shooting a movie, one thing we can afford is a ride home, so on the way home I just do some TM and try to phase out of it. Really, you can’t ever let go of all of it. There’s always a little bit of you that knows that tomorrow, you’re Ted.

“I knew the basics, pretty much what our generation knows,” Efron says of the Bundy story. “We didn’t live through it – it’s a new story we can tell to our generation.” “We got super-specific with Ted’s look, I lost a lot of weight for the role,” Efron reveals. Jim Parsons plays Florida Prosecutor Larry Simpson.

“We got to spend a lot of time on set. Which meant, in this movie, we spent a lot of time in jail,” Efron says.