Escaping the Shadow of Disney Stardom
CO-EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
Cynthia Littleton
Stardom came early for Zac Efron via the kind of pop culture hit that inevitably defines a young actor’s career. To his credit, Efron has worked hard over the past decade and a half to make sure that his work is not overshadowed by the triple-threat Troy Bolton character he played in the 2006 Disney Channel movie “High School Musical.”
In his sit-down with Daniel D’addario, Variety’s chief correspondent, Efron is candid and thoughtful about the arc of his professional journey and what that has meant for his personal life. For his latest movie, A24’s “The Iron Claw,” Efron went through a classic thespian transformation that demonstrated his extraordinary commitment to the role. As he explains, it’s not that easy to put on 15 pounds of muscle, as was required to play the professional wrestler Kevin Von Erich in the film from writerdirector Sean Durkin.
Efron digs deep to offer perspective that amounts to cautionary advice for others who might find their
Ramin Setoodeh
way into a business that forces children and youth to grow up fast — and in a fishbowl.
“The goal is always the next mission, the next movie, making sure everyone else is very happy. It can be very lonely at times,” Efron tells D’addario about his early efforts to evolve after his Disney years. “But the process of taking your emotions head-on, sort of working with them, was a profound moment in my life. And it’s definitely taken me down a different road.”
We also put the spotlight in this issue on those who work behind the camera. Our annual Directors on Directors brings together the season’s buzziest helmers to talk shop, compare notes and (occasionally) tut-tut about industry issues. Who wouldn’t want to be a fly on the wall while Greta Gerwig and James Cameron converse? Or Ava Duvernay and Michael Mann? Or Bradley Cooper and Spike Lee, among other pairings? With the level of talent and the seriousness of the discussions, the section amounts to an Afi-worthy master class in directing.