The time has come to celebrate the patron saint of abs:Zac Efron.
One of our favorite millennial heartthrobs turns 37 on Oct. 18, which means two things. 1. Yes, time just slapped us all in the face. 2. A rewatch of a favorite movie starring Efron is in order.
But which one to choose? Of course, you can pick from his repertoire of musical moments, like Hairspray or The Greatest Showman.
Or perhaps you’d rather go withHigh School Musical 3or 17 Again, both of which highlight his physical prowess. Then again, his comedic chops are on full display in Neighbors and Dirty Grandpa. Range, thy name is Zachary David Alexander Efron!
Trying to decide which Efron movie is the best sparked a conversation that incited a friendly yet fierce debate in the E! News offices. The takes were hotter than the man himself without his shirt on, which, you know, we’ve featured just maybe once or twice on our Instagram account. (You’re welcome, by the way.)
And so, we decided to do what any sane person with a 401K would do: We ranked all of his feature film outings.
For the record, the man himself ranks his most recent effort—the June rom-com A Family Affair—as one of his fave film-making experience.
“I got to play, like, the worst version of somebody experiencing fame and sort of the fear and the imposter syndrome that comes with that,” he told Vanity Fair of portraying a movie star who hooks up with the mom (Nicole Kidman) of his personal assistant (Joey King).
“One the one hand, I’m still, like, starstruck every time I see her,” he added of his physical scenes with Kidman. “Even to this day. I really just am in a sense just always going to be in permanent awe of her. I don’t know, I’ve got a deep trust and, like, respect for her that I think just makes it fun.”
Similarly, we were up to the task of sifting through Efron’s film oeuvre to pull out some of the highlights. Yes, it was a tough job, but someone had to do it. Here’s our official ranking of every Efron movie, from worst to best.
WORST: We Are Your Friends
The Paperboy
Dirty Grandpa
New Year’s Eve
Firestarter
Baywatch
Me and Orson Welles
Gold
The Greatest Beer Run Ever
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
That Awkward Moment
Ricky Stanicky
A Family Affair
Charlie St. Cloud
The Lucky One
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
Neighbors and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
Hairspray
The Greatest Showman
17 Again
The Iron Claw
BEST: High School Musical 3
(Originally published on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 3:00 a.m. PT)