Interview: Zac Efron

We talk to the star about his role as a marine in Nicholas Sparks weepie The Lucky One, as well as The Paperboy and Liberal Arts.

New Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, Dear John) adaptation The Lucky One hits UK cinemas today, featuring Zac Efron as a shell-shocked marine who tracks down the mystery woman in a photo he believes was his lucky charm while on duty in Iraq.

His character Logan finds single mother Beth (Taylor Schilling) at a family-run kennel in Louisiana, where the two fall for each other - despite Logan keeping his reason for being there a secret.

Scott Hicks (Shine, The Boys are Back) directs the romantic weepie. We got the chance to interview Efron, Sparks, Hicks and Schilling last week, and today we bring you our round table chat with the leading man. Efron talks about playing a father figure, portraying PTSD, and his upcoming roles in The Paperboy and Liberal Arts.

So you wanted to try something out of your comfort zone with this role?

I always want to try something out of my comfort zone. It's the best possible scenario for me. It felt great. I looked at the role and I knew it would be a challenge in a number of ways, to potray it accurately. That's where the fun comes in - I'm still learning as I go here. I didn't start booking roles because I was the best actor on the block; now I'm making an effort to learn as I go. So if I'm not stretching, really growing with every role, or working with directors I can learn a lot from and are willing to share, I don't know how much longer I'd be around. 

So what did Logan teach you?

Restraint. He doesn't have to say everything on his mind. He doesn't need to let you know what he's thinking. I'm more gregarious and carefree. I also haven't dealt with loss in the way he has. I'm still young. It's amazing, after sitting down with the marines and learning the stories from their lips, and using your imagination to wonder what it would be like to come back to our lifestyle here, where everything feels so trivial. 

Talking of trivial, how did it feel to have your hair cut off?

It was hilarious - I have a video on my phone to show you guys. I'd never had it that short, and I didn't know if my head had bumps on it, you know. It was pretty symbolic... boy, was that weird. It was a really great feeling.

You play a father figure for the first time, so how did that feel, and how did you get on with young Riley Thomas Stewart?

It was great. You just had to talk to him like an adult! I didn't really know how to handle kids, and I would talk to them like you would a little dog - "hey buddy!". Riley's a dude - I just treated him like he was up here. He was super, super talented and a charming young man. All the charisma and charm you see is real.

Nicholas Sparks said he didn't want the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to be portrayed as raging anger. Was it difficult to internalise it?

We wanted it to be honest. Logan is still a man of integrity - he's the most honourable character I've ever played, and he was written that way. He always takes the high road, he always does the right thing. He doesn't want his burden to impact anyone else. I felt that was very, very noble. Scott was great with that. We could have overdone the PTSD thing like a cliché. But when I was meeting the marines, they were very normal guys, other that their posture and the way they present themselves; this immense diginity that was just emanating from themselves. They're like machines. Never once did they let on how traumatising it was, until they started to tell the stories. Even then it was a weepie thing, you could just see it in their eyes that they had been there.

You've spoken about not wanting to be seen as a heart-throb character - what do you think of the hysteria every time you show the slightest bit of skin?

I don't know how to put it into words... it's better than the opposite reaction? That's never what it's about for me, and I try not to think about it. That's one thing I don't notice - I'm looking at the flaws, and the performance. Until my mum says very loudly "that's my boy!" Oh my god...

Did you have any nerves doing the love scenes?

Everyone is tense on those days - it's not just us. There's a built-in awkwardness between everyone. But for me and Taylor, we knew each other very well by this point. I tried to make her as comfortable as I could, and laugh it off. The great thing was that we had a very sensitive director, Scott, who was very discreet and thoughtful in his approach. I had a great partner - we kind of got lost in it.

What did you think of Taylor Schilling when you saw her for the first time?

I thought she was beautiful. The first time I met her was just to read, so I didn't get too much of an introduction. I was confident she was Beth in every way. She delivered the best part in the movie, on my part. The best part about the screen test, is that when they were relighting for every scene, I was just sitting on the grass, deep in thought, and she came over and we just talked for 45 minutes. We're very like-minded, we've got similar work ethic, and we would work with each other very well, and experiment. I couldn't have asked for a greater collaborator.

How was it being surrounded by those gorgeous dogs on the set?

Amazing. We were literally running a kennel. I was good friends with the dog trainers, as we would take the dogs for walks. He just hands me the pooper scooper and says "go to work". "Dude! Come on! Are you serious?" And then Scott ran over and started filming, so that was pretty fun. They lighten the mood - you never have to take anything too seriously when there are a ton of dogs on the set, and they just want to play.

Do you believe in fate, as there's an element of that with the photo?

Do a degree. I don't know where luck ends and fate begins. I know that I was in the right place at the right time in my life, a lot. There's those moment when I think it's too good to be true, it can't just be that. It's been a lot of hard work, but I think that hard work has led to a lot of doors and opportunities. Maybe fate's presenting me with those opportunities, but it's hard work that's getting me to walk through them.

You have your production company - what kind of projects are you looking at?

Just anything that is cool. I want to make cool movies that I would go and see. Anything that's innovative, or new. Edge is the wrong word, because that implies risqué. Something that's moving.

Will you be heading to Cannes for The Paperboy, and will it surprise people?

Yes, and I hope so. Lee Daniels is an amazing guy. I was very blessed to be able to work with him. He took a risk on me for that part. A big one. When I'm able to meet and work with people I have the utmost respect for and admiration for all their choices... Living the life and putting out such great art and integrity with all their choices, and risk in all their choices - Nicole [Kidman] embodies that 100%. Every time I had a scene with her I felt like I was in Moulin Rouge, I was so in love with her!

What can you tell us about your role in Josh Radnor's Liberal Arts?

I met Josh at the Maui Film Festival in 2010, and he had not directed anything at that point. He said, "I'm going to direct something - if there's a part in it for you, would you do it?" I said 100%, as I really enjoyed spending time with him. He called and said he had a part, "it's a couple of days, and it's really weird, and I'm not sure if your character is a figment of my imagination." I was like, "dude, I'm in". I think Liberal Arts is an amazing film. I'm not sure how I fit into it! Elizabeth Olsen is fucking extraordinary.

Quelle: thisisfakediy.co.uk