“What happened to Zac Efron's face?” That is one of the most repeated questions in the international press in the last two months. As happened before with stars of the stature of Demi Moore, Renée Zellweger or Meg Ryan, public scrutiny and speculation about possible aesthetic touches are now focused on this 36-year-old Californian who rose to popularity for his starring role in High School Musical. In his case, his “unrecognizable” appearance is attributed to somewhat swollen cheekbones and a jaw line that is visibly different from usual, despite the fact that the actor has explained for years that his physical change is due to a serious domestic accident. which forced him to undergo an entire facial reconstruction. The debate regarding his face was so widespread that whoever was described as “Disney wonder boy” had to admit that even his mother had called him to ask if he had had cosmetic touch-ups done without his knowledge. Speculations that are now resurfacing on the occasion of the premiere of Efron's celebrated latest film, The Iron Clawbased on the true story of the Von Erichs, a family of wrestlers from wrestling marked by tragedy. The film has placed the performer for the first time on the catapult towards the next Oscars after years wandering without pain or glory through the industry. Will he finally win the championship belt?
The first proof that perhaps the newly released 2024 can become the year of rebirth of Zac Efron dates back to December 11, when he unveiled his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A recognition of the 18 years that have passed since he gave life to Troy Bolton in High School Musical and a reminder of his status in the sector that will be very useful for the award winner, according to actor Jeremy Allen-White. “It's like Zac Efron doesn't know he's a big movie star. So, so that he is never forgotten again, we are all here today to remind him by putting a star on the ground with his name,” said the protagonist of the series. The Bear and his co-star in The Iron Claw.
This indie melodrama will premiere on February 16 in Spain, but on the networks it has already sparked a passionate campaign in support of the merits of Zac Efron with hundreds of comments clamoring for a nomination. There are the past examples of Brendan Fraser, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey… The vindication and legitimization by the public of a familiar Hollywood face never before appreciated by critics is one of the most powerful traditions in each season of awards and Efron stands out this year as the perfect ambassador of these desires. “It's crazy. I don't even want to think about that. I just got one star so I need to slow down a bit. “I'm satisfied with what I have,” he responded when asked about the statuette rumors.
Academics would do well to pay attention to the actor's profile, since, despite his young age, his career checks every box of the stereotypical redemption stories so beloved by Hollywood. After becoming an idol folder forger of the millennial generation, Efron was unable to find a place in cinematic maturity and has chained failures that are well-known to critics and the public, such as Dirty Grandpa or the adaptation of The Baywatch. A career burdened in turn by an addiction to alcohol and drugs that led him to enter a rehabilitation clinic in 2013 and whose consumption he described as the “social lubricant” necessary to withstand the media pressure that had loomed over him during his beginnings. Shortly after, his name made headlines for having gotten into a fight with a homeless man in a Los Angeles neighborhood.
Zac Efron was no longer Troy Bolton. He wasn't the king of the prom, nor the captain of the basketball team, nor the lead singer of the high school musical. His future in the industry hung in the balance. “I am a human being and I have made many mistakes. “I have learned from each one of them,” confirmed in The Hollywood Reporter. Perhaps because of the scrutiny to which he was subjected, or because of trying to expand his charm. peterpanesque Beyond 30, Efron decided to transform his body in the gym and show off a cycled physique that, after a while, he also ended up regretting. “It wasn't a realistic image,” he said on the Ellen DeGeneres show, “I don't want anyone to think that's the healthiest image you can project. It's not glamorous… settle for being happy in your size.”
Faced with the impossibility of reaching the next level of Hollywood, the decision to move to the idyllic Australian shores of Byron Bay – the same town where Elsa Pataky and Chris Hemsworth reside – at the beginning of this century seemed like a definitive capitulation for its part. She sold her mansion in Los Angeles for more than five million euros, fell in love with Vanessa Valladares, the waitress at a local restaurant, and left her acting side aside to star in a docuseries of environmental awareness and sustainable on Netflix, With our feet on the ground. But the romantic relationship was barely a year old and the platform canceled the series this summer, just when its second season had just premiered, leaving the actor once again faced with the obligation to reinvent himself. Luckily for him, and for the fans who have been waiting almost two decades for him to finally get his chance to shine, the lead role in The Iron Claw It was a few months away. Because there is no one better than Zac Efron in the mecca of cinema to get on the ring giving life to an antihero marked by early success, low blows and a physique as hypertrophied as the intensity of the spotlights that point towards his figure. We'll see if future red carpets recognize this.
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