Men's Fitness Preview and USA Today Article/Pics
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USA Today
I posted a couple of these already but just for completeness' sake, I'm doing all I can find now:
Src 1, 2
Zac Efron: The new R-rated comedy king
Sitting outside a replica Delta Psi Neighbors fraternity house on the Universal Studios lot, Efron appreciates his new naughty niche.
"Comedy is where I fit in right now. This has been a dream year," Efron says. "For several years in my early 20s, I kept saying, 'No, no, no' to projects. It was a lot of waiting for good material and kind of a depressing time. It wasn’t really working."
Neighbors did work, however initially shocking for fans of his more wholesome image. Efron kept up with star and producer Seth Rogen and injected sincerity into his rowdy fraternity leader Teddy - now the emotional center of Neighbors 2 as he struggles to move beyond college life.
Nicholas Stoller, who directed both Neighbors films, says Efron has comedy chops and those chiseled looks don’t hurt.
“There are very few people who look that way that are very funny. Zac brings both things," Stoller says. "It’s scary for the normal-looking comedians trying to ply their trade.”
Efron is also willing to revel in the raunch while bringing what Stoller calls “hyper-preparedness.” Two days before a comical male revue-style dance for Neighbors 2, Efron discovered there were no choreography plans in place. Stoller assumed Efron would improvise.
"That was like 'Oh boy,'" Efron says. "You cannot just dance. That's not how you do it."
Faster than you can say hunk-o-mergency, Efron dialed a choreographer friend who jetted to the Atlanta set. The final routine to the song Booty Loose is a show-stopper.
“I learned some simple Magic Mike-esque moves,” says Efron says. “And it all worked out.”
Now that he's a proven he can own the movie comedies, Efron says he's ready to show off more moves career-wise. Next he'll appear with Adam DeVine in the R-rated Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, out July 8, and he's currently filming the debauched movie version of Baywatch with Dwayne Johnson (for a May 2017 release).
"I’m excited for my next adventure," Efron says. "Whether it’s drama, musical, or who knows? Something different to shake it up."
A rowdy guide to Zac Efron's debauched comedies
Zac Efron has followed one comedy philosophy since making the breakthrough to raunchy comedies with his starring role in 2014's Neighbors - you gotta be ready to go there.
“Everyone wants to push it to the limit,” says Efron, 28. “There’s stuff you do because it’s going to be funny. But I’ll do pretty much anything if it makes the story better.”
Efron continues to work this R-rated doctrine alongside Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (opening Friday). In the sequel, Efron's frat boy Teddyrefuses to move past his party-glory college days.
Here's a guide to 2016's most outrageous Efron moments and a primer for projects to come:
Dirty Grandpa
Efron was thrilled to star alongside legendary actor Robert De Niro, who plays his lecherous grandfather in the comedy, which hit theaters in January. He was game to flex cheesy on a Spring Break stage before shooting a morning-after party scene wearing nothing except body graffiti and a strategically-placed bumblebee.
“I just kept thinking, ‘You’re doing it with De Niro. You’re doing it with De Niro,’" Efron says. “Being the straight man to De Niro is priceless. There wasn’t too much I wasn’t willing to do. Including wearing next to nothing."
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
Before a raunchy Magic Mike dance number in the college party comedy sequel, Efron's Teddy resorts to having a slab of meat rubbed on his body (Teddy forgot his baby oil).
The meat was spiced, grilled and injected with actual baby oil for the scene. Efron’s co-stars, including Rogen, smeared it all over him.
“As it was rubbed in and I smelled it, all I could think was, ‘How long will this go?’ and about taking a shower,” Efron says. “It was all pretty gross.”
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
Dave (Efron) and Mike (Adam DeVine) are two brothers who love each other almost as much as they love to party in the R-rated comedy out July 8. But they brawl big-time during their sister's wedding rehearsal dinner.
"We took it to another level," Efron says. "It was so serious and so dumb at the same time."
Baywatch
Efron is still shooting the proudly risqué movie version of the classic '80s TV series (due out May 2017). But early clips have already shown Efron's brash Brody butts heads and exchange Not Safe for Anywhere language with lifeguard boss Mitch (Dwayne Johnson).
“Brody is kind of like Justin Bieber-esque in the beginning, in the good ways and bad. He just has some attitude,” Efron says.
Click to view Men's Fitness FB
USA Today
I posted a couple of these already but just for completeness' sake, I'm doing all I can find now:
Src 1, 2
Zac Efron: The new R-rated comedy king
Sitting outside a replica Delta Psi Neighbors fraternity house on the Universal Studios lot, Efron appreciates his new naughty niche.
"Comedy is where I fit in right now. This has been a dream year," Efron says. "For several years in my early 20s, I kept saying, 'No, no, no' to projects. It was a lot of waiting for good material and kind of a depressing time. It wasn’t really working."
Neighbors did work, however initially shocking for fans of his more wholesome image. Efron kept up with star and producer Seth Rogen and injected sincerity into his rowdy fraternity leader Teddy - now the emotional center of Neighbors 2 as he struggles to move beyond college life.
Nicholas Stoller, who directed both Neighbors films, says Efron has comedy chops and those chiseled looks don’t hurt.
“There are very few people who look that way that are very funny. Zac brings both things," Stoller says. "It’s scary for the normal-looking comedians trying to ply their trade.”
Efron is also willing to revel in the raunch while bringing what Stoller calls “hyper-preparedness.” Two days before a comical male revue-style dance for Neighbors 2, Efron discovered there were no choreography plans in place. Stoller assumed Efron would improvise.
"That was like 'Oh boy,'" Efron says. "You cannot just dance. That's not how you do it."
Faster than you can say hunk-o-mergency, Efron dialed a choreographer friend who jetted to the Atlanta set. The final routine to the song Booty Loose is a show-stopper.
“I learned some simple Magic Mike-esque moves,” says Efron says. “And it all worked out.”
Now that he's a proven he can own the movie comedies, Efron says he's ready to show off more moves career-wise. Next he'll appear with Adam DeVine in the R-rated Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, out July 8, and he's currently filming the debauched movie version of Baywatch with Dwayne Johnson (for a May 2017 release).
"I’m excited for my next adventure," Efron says. "Whether it’s drama, musical, or who knows? Something different to shake it up."
A rowdy guide to Zac Efron's debauched comedies
Zac Efron has followed one comedy philosophy since making the breakthrough to raunchy comedies with his starring role in 2014's Neighbors - you gotta be ready to go there.
“Everyone wants to push it to the limit,” says Efron, 28. “There’s stuff you do because it’s going to be funny. But I’ll do pretty much anything if it makes the story better.”
Efron continues to work this R-rated doctrine alongside Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (opening Friday). In the sequel, Efron's frat boy Teddyrefuses to move past his party-glory college days.
Here's a guide to 2016's most outrageous Efron moments and a primer for projects to come:
Dirty Grandpa
Efron was thrilled to star alongside legendary actor Robert De Niro, who plays his lecherous grandfather in the comedy, which hit theaters in January. He was game to flex cheesy on a Spring Break stage before shooting a morning-after party scene wearing nothing except body graffiti and a strategically-placed bumblebee.
“I just kept thinking, ‘You’re doing it with De Niro. You’re doing it with De Niro,’" Efron says. “Being the straight man to De Niro is priceless. There wasn’t too much I wasn’t willing to do. Including wearing next to nothing."
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
Before a raunchy Magic Mike dance number in the college party comedy sequel, Efron's Teddy resorts to having a slab of meat rubbed on his body (Teddy forgot his baby oil).
The meat was spiced, grilled and injected with actual baby oil for the scene. Efron’s co-stars, including Rogen, smeared it all over him.
“As it was rubbed in and I smelled it, all I could think was, ‘How long will this go?’ and about taking a shower,” Efron says. “It was all pretty gross.”
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
Dave (Efron) and Mike (Adam DeVine) are two brothers who love each other almost as much as they love to party in the R-rated comedy out July 8. But they brawl big-time during their sister's wedding rehearsal dinner.
"We took it to another level," Efron says. "It was so serious and so dumb at the same time."
Baywatch
Efron is still shooting the proudly risqué movie version of the classic '80s TV series (due out May 2017). But early clips have already shown Efron's brash Brody butts heads and exchange Not Safe for Anywhere language with lifeguard boss Mitch (Dwayne Johnson).
“Brody is kind of like Justin Bieber-esque in the beginning, in the good ways and bad. He just has some attitude,” Efron says.