Zac Efron is a movie star, a triple threat, a cultural phenomenon, and my latest obsession. The funny thing is, I don’t even entirely know why.

That’s been the main question people have asked me, upon finding out that I was watching my way through the entire Zefron filmography: Why? He may be famous, but he’s no Tom Hanks or Cary Grant; he’s not exactly renowned for his acting chops, but rather, for the High School Musical movies that launched him into stardom decades ago. Prior to this deep dive, I myself mostly knew him for his leading role in the comedy 17 Again, which – although I adore it – most people would not define as highbrow cinema.

Ultimately, that’s what drew me to devour Zac’s oeuvre in full: the sense that, despite his reputation as “just” a teeny-bopper heartthrob, he’s actually a pretty great actor. The more of his films I watched, the more I could see it – the way he often drastically out-performs the material he’s typecast in, finding emotional beats that the lackluster writing never accounted for. He does this across multiple genres, too, contrary to his image as a Disney Channel beefcake: he’s starred in gut-wrenching dramas, goofy comedies, and swoony romances, and he’s good in all of them. (Well… in most of them, anyway!)

The characters Zef plays are, broadly speaking, good guys. They are earnest and assertive, sensitive but masculine, often shirtless and always heterosexual. In many films, his character has a secret dream of doing something creative or wild – like theatre, photography, racing cars, or racing horses – but feels hemmed in by the pressures of masculinity, often pressures applied by the character’s own father.

Zac’s preternatural prettiness is an important trait of many of his characters, and is described colorfully by other people throughout his films – he’s said to look like a Malibu Ken doll, a “beautiful centaur,” a “beautiful lesbian,” and “like something a gay guy designed in a laboratory.” Sometimes that attractiveness belies an intelligence or calculated malice hiding beneath; sometimes he’s just a straight-up himbo, and that’s fun too.

The thing that surprised me most, in watching through all these Zefron films, is how widely they vary in quality. I’m sure this is true to some extent for any actor who’s been in the biz as long as he has (23+ years!), but this deep dive contained some of the worst movies I’ve ever seen, as well as some so good that I was cackling/screeching/weeping throughout (I’m a very emotive movie-watcher, okay?!).

This was the first time I’ve ever watched an actor’s entire filmography, and I found it comforting to be guided along this journey by a familiar (gorgeous) face. I always knew, even during the bleakest of watches, that my boy would show up and act his ass off. He made even the worst movies on this list bearable, and if that’s not the sign of a true movie star, I don’t know what is.

Now, without further ado, I give you…

Every Zac Efron movie, ranked from worst to best

35/ Melinda’s World (2003). Zef’s film debut, and also his worst movie by far. He plays a brash teen boy who quasi-romances a sheltered young girl who’s grown up in an abusive religious cult. An abysmally tough watch, both plot-wise and filmmaking-wise, and no one is good in it, not even tiny Zef. Watch it if you love: terrible movies, or Zac Efron. Not sure why else anyone would watch this. Skip it if you hate: religious trauma, sexual abuse, long pointless slideshows set to music.

34/ Firestarter (2022). Zef plays a guy who has telekinetic powers, as do his wife and daughter. He spends most of the movie trying to protect his kid from getting abducted by the government, but he also briefly does some hypnotherapy-esque stuff to help a lady quit smoking, if you’re into that. Overall though, this movie is gross, upsetting, bleak, and somehow also weirdly boring. Watch it if you love: hot dads, Stranger Things, horror movies that are mental health allegories. Skip it if you hate: uncontrolled flame, disgusting injuries, violence against cats.

33/ Baywatch (2017). Zef plays a has-been Olympic swimmer who joins a legendary lifeguarding team and ends up trying to solve a local mystery with them. Not anywhere near as funny or sexy as it should’ve been, and sometimes outright unpleasant and mean-spirited. Watch it if you love: the original Baywatch series, femme fatale villains, the thought of a nerdy dude (not Zef) getting a boner when a hot lifeguard gives him the Heimlich maneuver. Skip it if you hate: body-shaming, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the idea of necrotic melted fat dripping into your mouth.

32/ Scoob! (2020). Zef plays the voice role of Fred Jones, leader of the classic Mystery Inc. gang – except there’s nothing classic about this dismal film, which is mainly about Shaggy and Scooby helping a superhero we neither know nor care about. Watch it if you love: dogs, Will Forte, seeing a classic media franchise dissolve into irrelevance before your very eyes. Skip it if you hate: uncanny 3D animation, scorpion robots, Simon Cowell.

31/ The Derby Stallion (2005). Zef plays a teen boy who wants to compete in a horse-racing derby, but his dad wants him to play baseball instead. The rest is too boring to recount, and contains precious little actual horse-racing. Watch it if you love: big brothers taking care of their little sisters, the music of Billy Preston, the idea of watching Zef shovel horse shit. Skip it if you hate: racism, bad dads, addiction stigma.

30/ New Year’s Eve (2011). Zef plays a bike messenger who Michelle Pfeiffer’s character hires to take her around town so she can fulfill all her remaining goals for the year before the clock strikes midnight. And also there are one zillion other characters doing other stuff, most of it not very interesting. Watch it if you love: Katherine Heigl, Lea Michele, Ashton Kutcher. Skip it if you hate: convoluted plots, Times Square, Love Actually.

29/ Dirty Grandpa (2016). Zef plays a straight-laced attorney who reluctantly tries to help his newly-widowed, foul-mouthed grandfather (Robert DeNiro) get laid. Atrocious movie that nonetheless contains one of my favorite lines of dialogue in this entire dive: Zef’s lawyer character says, while in jail, “The bar is something I took and passed, not something I stand behind.” Watch it if you love: sex puns, naked men on motorcycles, the idea of Aubrey Plaza brazenly flirting with Robert DeNiro. Skip it if you hate: homophobia, racism, misogyny, STI-shaming, antisemitism, ableism, police, dick.

28/ Liberal Arts (2012). Zef plays an adorable college-age hippie named Nat who knows about all the best campus parties and believes there’s a “lot of information in trees” – but sadly he’s only on-screen for less than 8 minutes, and the rest of the movie is about a 35-year-old guy (Josh Radnor) trying to decide whether he can/should date a 19-year-old girl named Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen). Yikes. Watch it if you love: problematic age-gap romances, John Green novels, Allison Janney, the coziness of academia. Skip it if you hate: pretentious literature bros, the ‘manic pixie dream girl’ trope, ephebophiles and their ilk.

27/ Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016). Zef and Adam DeVine play a pair of brothers who place a Craigslist ad looking for dates to their sister’s destination wedding in Hawaii. Poorly written and gratuitously crass, but Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick are great in it, and Canadian TV-watching millennials will recognize Sugar Lyn Beard (of YTV’s “The Zone” fame) in a prominent and surprisingly sexual role. Watch it if you love: good boy/bad girl romances, Kumail Nanjiani, butt-to-butt erotic massages. Skip it if you hate: cringe comedy, the thought of dating a manchild, the stereotype that all bisexual people have STIs and are sexual predators.

26/ The Lucky One (2012). Zef plays a sullen army vet, searching for a woman whose photo he randomly found on the battlefield. It was almost physically painful to watch Zef play a character with so little charisma. Becomes a tiresomely schmaltzy love triangle where Zef’s competition is an abusive cop – sigh, yawn. But it’s romantic or whatever. Watch it if you love: Southern hospitality, Nicholas Sparks novels, movies that make you cry against your will. Skip it if you hate: domestic abuse, men yelling, violence against dogs.

25/ High School Musical (2006). The first HSM holds a special place in many people’s hearts, but it’s objectively the worst of the franchise, due to having the lowest budget and the weakest writing. Still, Zef is charming as ever in the iconic role of teen basketball star Troy Bolton, and there’s some delightful stuff in here, like the famous basketball dance sequence. Watch it if you love: theatre kids, mid-oughts fashion, loose adaptations of Romeo & Juliet. Skip it if you hate: G-rated romance, cheesy dialogue, Disneyfied pop music.

24/ The Greatest Showman (2017). Zef plays a supporting role as a writer who goes into business with P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman), and has a lovely romance with a beautiful trapeze artist (Zendaya). Not my kind of musical at all – too slick and showy, every song sounds like a Katy Perry track [derogatory] – but I love Zef’s few songs in it, and it may well be the last movie-musical he ever does (I hope not!). Watch it if you love: Hugh Jackman, Zendaya, the circus. Skip it if you hate: modern pop musicals, biopics that take too many liberties, the American dream.

23/ We Are Your Friends (2015). Zef plays a DJ in a friend group of other DJs; a pal of mine described this movie as being “like Magic Mike but about DJs” and that’s pretty accurate. There’s some sexy flirting and some good songwriting scenes, but mostly this is pretty mid. Watch it if you love: electronic dance music, toppy flirting, psychedelics. Skip it if you hate: angry bitter men, loud crowds, misogyny.

22/ Parkland (2013). Zef plays the doctor who treated JFK when the president was rushed to hospital after being shot. Perfectly serviceable movie about the shooting’s fascinating aftermath – Paul Giamatti is particularly good as the guy who shot the famous handheld-camera footage of that event – but somehow not as exciting or affecting as I wanted it to be. Watch it if you love: American history, true crime, media ethics. Skip it if you hate: gun violence, gore, men yelling.

21/ Me and Orson Welles (2008). Zef plays a high school student who gets offered a role in a production of Julius Caesar being directed by Orson Welles. Good performances and fun backstage stuff that my fellow theatre kids will enjoy, but I found the plot a bit sparse and draggy. Watch it if you love: the theatre, the ukulele, the idealism of youth. Skip it if you hate: men yelling, infidelity, cults of personality.

20/ Charlie St. Cloud (2010). Zef plays a graveyard worker who moonlights as a sailor, and has a near-death experience that grants him the ability to communicate with the ghosts of people who’ve recently died, including (tragically) his own little brother. Sad as fuck, but quite possibly the most gorgeous Zef has ever looked, if you ask me. Watch it if you love: sailing, hot people kissing, the thought of Zac Efron chasing geese around a cemetery. Skip it if you hate: rough-housing, shipwrecks, mortality, crying so hard you can’t breathe.

19/ Miracle Run (2004). Zef plays an autistic teen who develops a passion for running. They should’ve cast an actual autistic person, but I was surprised by the sensitivity of this Lifetime made-for-TV movie. Zef is wonderful in it, and so is Mary-Louise Parker as his overwhelmed mother. Watch it if you love: good stepdads, jogging, the guitar. Skip it if you hate: “inspiration porn,” ableist bullying, feeling overstimulated.

18/ A Family Affair (2024). Zef plays a hack Hollywood actor with an over-inflated ego, who strikes up a romance with his assistant’s mother (Nicole Kidman) despite her being two decades his senior. Funny and romantic, with some hot kissing scenes – and it’s one of Zef’s most amusingly dickish roles. Watch it if you love: age-gap romances, the film industry, women. Skip it if you hate: cocky assholes, breakups, feeling disposable.

17/ At Any Price (2012). Zef plays a teen who dreams of becoming a professional race car driver, but is stuck under the thumb of his domineering father, a farmer/seed salesman (Dennis Quaid) who gets mixed up in some shady shit. Excellent performances from both leading men; I just found it hard to get invested in a movie about cars and corn. Watch it if you love: agriculture, stock car races, salesmanship. Skip it if you hate: bad dads, car crashes, Iowa.

16/ Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016). Zef reprises his role from the original Neighbors (of which more later), Teddy, now a reformed frat bro working as a “party consultant” for a sorority at his alma mater. Stupider than the original, but definitely has its moments, and the ensemble cast is stellar (Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Chloë Grace Moretz, Dave Franco, Ike Barinholtz, Jerrod Carmichael, Hannibal Buress, and Beanie Feldstein?!?). Watch it if you love: sisterhood, dildos, improv. Skip it if you hate: vomiting, bedbugs, nonconsensual drugging.

15/ Ricky Stanicky (2024). Zef plays a guy who, along with his besties, has long used a made-up friend named Ricky Stanicky as an excuse whenever he needs to get out of something. Complications ensue when the men’s girlfriends start questioning their story, and they end up needing to cast an actor to play their “friend” Ricky (John Cena, who’s fucking great in this). Absurd premise, but this is actually a beautiful movie about identity, self-reinvention, and the importance of honesty. Watch it if you love: bros being bros, casual queerness, masturbation-themed parody songs. Skip it if you hate: pointless lying, men being dumb, botched circumcisions.

14/ That Awkward Moment (2014). Zef, Miles Teller, and Michael B. Jordan star as best friends in this silly sex comedy, which feels almost like a male version of Sex & the City. Notably, there’s a scene where Zef shops for a strap-on at a sex shop and then wears it to a party where he unexpectedly has to meet his new girlfriend’s parents. Watch it if you love: male friendship, men in strap-ons, New York City. Skip it if you hate: fuckboys, toilet humor, dick jokes.

13/ The Lorax (2012). In this animated film, Zef provides the voice for a 12-year-old boy named Ted, who lives in a city where all vegetation has died off; he sets out in search of a tree to impress a girl. Based on the Dr. Seuss book, this is a sweet love story with an environmentalist message, lovingly adapted and well-voiced. Watch it if you love: Dr. Seuss, Danny DeVito, the beauty of nature. Skip it if you hate: the Despicable Me/Minions films (same director!).

12/ High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008). Zef once again reprises his role as Troy Bolton, this time facing impending graduation from high school and the uncertainty that follows. Less memorable than the previous two HSMs, but still an enchanting movie-musical with killer choreo. Watch it if you love: the on-screen chemistry between real-life couples, coming-of-age stories, dancing when the boys are back. Skip it if you hate: theatre kids, cheesy pop music, the terrors of aging.

11/ The Disaster Artist (2017). Zef plays a tiny-but-funny role in this great flick about filmmaker Tommy Wiseau and the making of his movie The Room. A must-see for anyone who’s interested in that cult-hit film, or in becoming a more audacious artist. Watch it if you love: bromances, tenacity, the movie industry. Skip it if you hate: cringe, wasted money, James Franco.

10/ Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019). Zef plays Ted Bundy, the famously charming serial killer. Cool to see him play against type; his most villainous role by far! Watch it if you love: true crime, 1970s fashion, romances with a frisson of danger. Skip it if you hate: Sheldon Cooper, pathological liars, hacksaws.

9/ The Beach Bum (2019). Zef plays a small role as an addict and pyromaniac named Flicker, with whom the titular beach bum (Matthew McConaughey) escapes from rehab to engage in debauchery on a yacht. I didn’t find this movie as funny or engrossing as I wanted to, but it was a visually stunning romp through hedonism nonetheless. Watch it if you love: stoner comedies, cunnilingus, panini beards. Skip it if you hate: drunk people, Florida, movies that feel aimless.

8/ The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022). Zef plays a guy who decides to sneak across the ocean on a munitions ship during the Vietnam War to bring his enlisted buddies some American beer. A surprisingly touching film about friendship, solidarity, and the ethics of war. Watch it if you love: male friendship, photojournalism, period-appropriate facial hair. Skip it if you hate: “patriotism,” beer, senseless violence.

7/ Hairspray (2007). Zef plays Link Larkin, a teenage TV star in the ‘60s who loves dancing and (eventually) social justice. Has its issues but overall a pretty stellar movie adaptation of a good musical. Watch it if you love: 1960s clothes/hair/makeup, Christopher Walken, a good ol’-fashioned musical. Skip it if you hate: ‘white savior’ plots, bitchy WASPs, the fact that they cast John Travolta in a role that is traditionally played by a drag queen.

6/ 17 Again (2009). My personal favorite Zef movie, though not necessarily the “best” one! Zef and the late Matthew Perry share the role of Mike O’Donnell, a 40-something depressed divorcé who gets magically transformed back into his 17-year-old self to take another shot at high school. Surprisingly emotional, sweet, and hilarious. Watch it if you love: movies in the vein of Big or It’s a Wonderful Life, male friendship, jokes about D&D and Lord of the Rings. Skip it if you hate: high school bullies, slut-shaming, male possessiveness.

5/ High School Musical 2 (2007). The best Zac Efron movie-musical. Zef reprises his role from the first High School Musical, Troy Bolton, a jock caught between the supposedly conflicting worlds of basketball and musical theatre. He sings and dances his ass off, opposite his real-life then-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens. Notably contains the all-time best Zac Efron musical number, “Bet On It.” Watch it if you love: great choreography/dancing, vague allusions to bisexuality, reflecting nostalgically on summers from your youth. Skip it if you hate: camp (in either sense), cheesy dialogue, theatre kids.

4/ The Paperboy (2012). Zef plays a driver who agrees to act as chauffeur for his brother, a journalist (Matthew McConaughey) who is investigating the possible wrongful conviction of an alleged murderer (John Cusack). In the process, Zef’s character falls in unrequited love with the killer’s biggest fangirl (Nicole Kidman). There’s a scene where Nicole pees on Zac to relieve his pain when he gets stung by jellyfish, FYI. Watch it if you love: true crime, journalism stories, hot sex scenes that involve zero touching. Skip it if you hate: racism, misogyny, sexual violence.

3/ Neighbors (2014). The best Zac Efron comedy. Zef plays a frat boy who moves in next door to a dweeby married couple (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) and their newborn baby; conflict ensues. Zany, smart-yet-dumb in the best way, and frequently hilarious. Watch it if you love: adorably awkward sex scenes, parenting, homoeroticism. Skip it if you hate: dick-based humor, frat culture, the idea of becoming old and irrelevant.

2/ Gold (2022). Zef’s character and a fellow traveler discover some gold in the middle of a post-apocalyptic desert, and Zef gets tasked with guarding it for a few days while his friend goes to fetch an excavator. What follows is a harrowing but deeply compelling descent into madness (not to mention dehydration). Watch it if you love: deep introspection, the sensation of fear, the movie Cast Away. Skip it if you hate: scorpions/snakes/rabid dogs, post-apocalyptic wastelands, Waiting for Godot.

1/ The Iron Claw (2023). Without a doubt, the best Zac Efron movie (so far, anyway!). Zef plays the real-life wrestling star Kevin Von Erich, whose father and brothers were all part of a supposedly “cursed” family of wrestlers. Brilliant film, sad and sharp and blazingly beautiful. The final scene, especially, fucking wrecked me and is some of the best acting Zef’s ever done on screen. Watch it if you love: wrestling, big muscly men feeling big hard feelings, Jeremy Allen White. Skip it if you hate: generational trauma, hypermasculinity, senseless violence.

…aaaand that’s a wrap on my Zef-a-thon! Special thanks to mb, Jake, pax, and my mom, all of whom watched at least one of these movies with me. What actor would you watch the entire filmography of? And what’s your favorite Zefron movie of the ones you’ve seen? Feel free to hit ‘reply’ and let me know!