Stanley Simons (left), Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White in Dallas, Texas on Nov. 8, 2023; Zac Efron in ‘High School Musical 2’.Photo:Stewart Cook/Getty Images; Adam Larkey/The Disney Channel/Kobal/Shutterstock
Stewart Cook/Getty Images; Adam Larkey/The Disney Channel/Kobal/Shutterstock
Zac Efronappreciates a good laugh, even when the joke is on him.
During a screening and Q&A on Sunday forThe Iron Clawat the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, the actor revealed that he took some on-set pranks in stride.
When costarStanley Simonsshared that he “was singing someHigh School Musicalsongs” to poke fun at Efron’s 2006 breakout role during downtime, the star admitted that it was one of the “most fun days.”
“God damn it, Stanley! I do remember that being one of the most fun days that we had,” Efron, 36, told PEOPLE and other audience members at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
“Filming a house party could go one way or the other. It’s a lot of people that are stuck in one room for many days, it can be kind of daunting. But this one was just electric. It felt like a high school party.”
Stanley Simons (left), Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson in Dallas, Texas on Nov. 8, 2023.Stewart Cook/Getty Images
Stewart Cook/Getty Images
Simons told PEOPLE on Sunday how memorable it was working with someone he grew up watching: “I sung [some of’Breaking Free'] to Zac when I was playing my music scene. That was definitely a life experience that I’ll never forget.”
“When I was singing the song, he was like, ‘Oh, you’re not hitting it, you’re not hitting it.’ I was like, ‘Oh,’ and I redid it. And I think I did a good job!” he added.
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Corbin Bleu (left), Monique Coleman, Zac Efron, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel in ‘High School Musical’.The Disney Channel/Kobal/Shutterstock
The Disney Channel/Kobal/Shutterstock
“We really bonded and got to hang out,” Simons said of their time making the biographical sports film. “When we got on set it just felt natural. They were really welcoming to me, not just my brothers but all the cast members. So it was a little nerve-racking, but they just were very open.”
The Iron Clawfocuses on the true story of the Von Erich brothers, who made history in the early 1980s in the world of professional wrestling. Despite being one of the sport’s most famous dynasties, they faced a series of personal tragedies which have come to be referred to as the “Von Erich curse” due to the tragic deaths of five members of the family between 1959 and 1993.
Getting more serious about the real work in the wrestling film, Efron noted writer/director Sean Durkin’s impeccable attention to detail and knowledge of even the most “obscure wrestlers.”
“And with the detail in which he remembered things from the matches from his television set at home was amazing,” Efron continued. “So him being able to recall these very specific moments meant a lot. And where it really came into play, I think a lot was with the physicality in the ring.”
Zac Efron attends ‘The Iron Claw’ premiere in Dallas, Texas on Nov. 8, 2023.Stewart Cook/Getty Images
Jeremy Allen Whiteshared a similar appreciation of Durkin’s dedication at Sunday’s screening.
“Zac’s a maniac,” White toldEsquireof his costar in May. “He’s so focused and knowledgeable on training, diet, all that. In terms of a physical transformation, I think he kind of blew us all out of the water. He looks really amazing in this thing.”
The Iron Clawis in theaters Dec. 22.
source: people.com
