Zac Efron comes to a screen near you this weekend as Channel 4 offers The Greatest Showman as the best way to spend Sunday afternoon.
He plays Phillip Carlyle, a playwright who becomes the showbiz partner of Hugh Jackman’s PT Barnum in the acclaimed musical flick.
Former High School Musical star Zac, now 37, remains a favourite with his fans after over two decades in the limelight. But despite his Hollywood success, Zac’s life away from the film set has ensured he’s frequently found himself in the headlines, too.
Zac Efron and his biggest scandals
It was widely reported in 2013 that Zac had completed a stint in rehab. The next year, in April 2014, he told The Hollywood Reporter: “I was drinking a lot, way too much.” According to that report, there was also an acknowledgment of drug use, too.
Zac went on: “It’s never one specific thing. I mean, you’re in your twenties, single, going through life in Hollywood, you know? Everything is thrown at you. I wouldn’t take anything back; I needed to learn everything I did. But it was an interesting journey, to say the least.”
At the time, Zac also said he had joined Alcoholics Anonymous and was seeing a therapist. “It’s a never-ending struggle,” he said of his battle with addiction.
Additionally, Zac hinted the pressures of fame and being in demand led to exhaustion.
“I had done films back-to-back-to-back. I was burnt out,” he said of his workload. Zac added: “There was something lacking, some sort of hole that I couldn’t really fill up.”
Fight with homeless man
In that same interview, Zac gave his side on the bizarre reports he’d brawled with a homeless man in Los Angeles’ Skid Row.
He insisted his car had run out of fuel in a dodgy part of town while out for dinner with an unidentified pal. Zac then claimed he attempted to disarm a “vagrant” with a knife before police rapidly turned up.
Contemporary reports differ somewhat, however. Indeed, TMZ claimed at the time that Zac was with his bodyguard – and a bottle was thrown.
Nude photo leak
Zac indirectly had an unwelcome brush with nudes images being leaked online when his then-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens was a victim in 2007.
She apologised at the time to her fans, “whose support and trust means the world to me”. She went on: “I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos. I am thankful for the support of my family and friends.”
Furthermore, Zac was also a victim himself in 2011 when fakes shared on Twitter caused his name to trend.
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Zac Efron and his biggest scandals – plastic surgery rumours
In December 2023, fans pondered Zac’s appearance after he wore sunglasses for a TV interview to promote The Iron Claw.
He cleared up rumours about whether he’d gone under the knife by telling The Hollywood Reporter: “I feel weird being in shades! I just have a bit of an eye infection. But I really wanted to be here. It’s such a good movie, and I want to come see you guys and tell everyone about it.”
The Greatest Showman is on Channel 4 on Sunday 16 March at 5.45pm.
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