Zac Efron being honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? You can “bet on it.” The “High School Musical” alumnus, 36, was joined by his family and friends such as “The Iron Claw” costar Jeremy Allen White and “That Awkward Moment” buddy Miles Teller on Monday when he received a star on Hollywood Boulevard.
Some of Efron’s “HSM” family was also there, with director Kenny Ortega and producer Bill Borden in the audience.
“You guys were both instrumental in giving me my start in ‘High School Musical.’ And for that, I’m just eternally, eternally grateful. You have no idea. I still think about it every day,” Efron said in a speech ahead of his star’s unveiling.
He joked, “I sing the songs in the shower. Go Wildcats.”
Zac Efron pays tribute to Matthew Perry: ‘Thinking about you a lot today’
Efron took a moment to acknowledge someone who was missing at Monday’s ceremony: “Friends” star Matthew Perry, who died unexpectedly in October.
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Perry was “so kind and generous with me while we worked on ’17 Again,'” said Efron, who played a younger version of the late actor in the 2009 film.
Collaborating with Perry and the movie’s director, Burr Steers, “really pushed me into the next chapter of my career. And for that, thank you so much, Matthew,” he added. “Thinking about you a lot today.”
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Miles Teller says Zac Efron’s Walk of Fame star is ‘overdue’
Efron’s star on Hollywood Boulevard was “overdue in my opinion,” Teller told the crowd.
The two first met in 2012 while filming “That Awkward Moment,” which Teller quipped wasn’t a box-office hit.
All jokes aside, “You are my friend and running mate. You are the man, the myth, the legend that is Zac Efron, baby,” Teller said. “For my generation, our generation, Zac was and is the first true superstar to really come out of our class.”
He added that Efron is “a true triple threat with a combination of immense talent, incredible work ethic and above-average face.”
Jeremy Allen White says Zac Efron needs to be reminded he’s ‘a movie star’
White, who plays Efron’s onscreen brother in “The Iron Claw” about the legendary Von Erich Texas wrestling family, spoke about the actor’s humility in a short speech.
“It’s as if Zac Efron doesn’t know he is, in fact, a movie star,” White said. “So we’re all here today to remind him and put a big star in the ground with his name on it so he’ll never forget.”
Zac Efron’s parents, brother Dylan celebrate his Hollywood star
“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I’d be standing here today,” Efron said in his speech.
Among his friends, fans and colleagues in the crowd were his dad, David Efron, mom Starla Baskett and brother Dylan Efron.
“There’s been a lot of sacrifices that you guys have made for me and my life, and it couldn’t have been easy,” Zac Efron said of his family. “But thanks for believing in me, and you’re the reason I’m here today.”
