From The Greatest Beer Run Ever to Ricky Stanicky, Zac Efron Revels in Peter Farrelly Movies

Popular actor Zac Efron, 36, presently stars in the hilarious Peter Farrelly comedy "Ricky Stanicky".

Zac Efron says his parents "inspired" him and always supported him, even driving hundreds of miles to get him to auditions. As for his social influencer brother, Dylan, he quips, “We were very competitive and used to wrestle and fight a lot in the house. We’ve always got on like a house on fire.”

The California-born actor, who comes off as a fun-loving, self-aware bro, became a teen idol when he played Troy Bolton in the High School Musical trilogy, and now loves working with directors like Oscar winner Peter Farrelly (for Green Book), having recently collaborated on The Greatest Beer Run Ever and Ricky Stanicky.

Amiable Zac Efron talks about his family, working with Russell Crowe, and he also offers some great life advice—"Do the thing you dislike or fear, and make it a habit to conquer that fear.”

With Peter Farrelly being known for Writing/Directing Outrageously Funny Comedies, What’s the Premise of Ricky Stanicky?

It’s about an elaborate hoax, and we three best friends are all equally guilty of concocting and keeping up this fraud over many years. But then we have to deal with the hoax unraveling when we hire an actor, the very funny John Cena, to play our Ricky. Cue a series of misadventures and even more laughter, led by our fantastic director Peter Farrelly.

What Were the Highlights of Shooting Ricky in Melbourne?

I love Australia, and have now spent quite some time there. So, it’d be great to film more things there, maybe a series. They have great directors, writers and crews, the locations are just awesome, like the people. And the weather and food is excellent.

You Hit the Weights Hard for your Role in Baywatch, but You Surpassed that for Last year’s The Iron Claw, Right?

I had trained hard for Baywatch but took it to another level with The Iron Claw about the world of pro wrestling. I totally invested in it from the go—heavy body building, a lot of very specific eating and then more training every day, no cheating. But it was fun putting everything else aside and having super focus. I had half a year to prep, and my primary goal was to achieve that esthetic that the character I played, wrestler Kevin Von Erich, had in real life.

You Danced your Way into our Hearts as Teen Idol Troy Bolton in the High School Musical Trilogy, How Much Do You Still like to Dance?

I started as a dancer and it was so much fun to be in several musicals like High School Musical and Hairspray. Now, I’ve also danced in competitions such as Dancing With The Stars, and even got to dance in the movie, The Greatest Showman, where I played opposite Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum's protegé Phillip Carlyle—it was fun to pull out my musical theater chops. I will always love dancing.

Dancing and Pro Weestling Seem at odds, but You See Parallels, Right?

For sure. Pro wrestling and dancing both have choreography involved, plus there are partners you have to practice with. With both, the more you practice it, you more you get into the groove and get better at it. Also like with dancing, in wrestling you change leads

Did You Watch Pro Wrestling on TV as a Kid, and Did that Inspire you to Perform in The Iron Claw?

We, Dylan and I, weren’t allowed to watch much TV growing up. And, especially wrestling because we were always tussling and our parents didn’t want us wrecking the house by copying them. This was during the Hulk Hogan time, but we’d sneak looks at the programs. I found pro wrestling to be a fascinating world, and I’ve learned to love it. The Von Erich brothers, the subject of the movie, changed the world with their dynamic moves, and they took the choreography to the next level.

What Did You Learn from Russell Crowe on the set of The Greatest Beer Run Ever?

Russell Crowe really stands out, and we all learned so much from him—he raises the game of everyone around him on the set. I mean, we all felt we were around a real pro, an Oscar winner. Russell is all about his craft, but also generous, and I felt that the dynamic, between his character and my lovable idiot character Chickie, kind of mirrored my own real-life interaction with Russell. His character takes mine under his wing during the Vietnam War, and guides him through this unbelievable experience. And, Russell had my back both as an actor and as a character.

What Influence Did Your Father Have on You?

Growing up, our dad was big on self-reliance. He built our house from scratch. And he always encouraged me in everything I did. I wasn’t the best player on the basketball team, and I wasn’t the tallest. But he built a basketball hoop at home, so I could practice my free throws, and I became really good at them. My parents sacrificed a lot for me. Even for an audition for a small role, they’d drive almost 200 miles each way from Arroyo Grande to LA. They believed in me and kept encouraging me. And, they’ve continued to support me and my brother Dylan.