Zac Efron has thought about Matthew Perry “every day” since he died.
The 36-year-old actor worked with the late ‘Friends’ star – who died in October aged 54 – on 2009 comedy ’17 Again’ and he will always cherish the time they got to spend together while making the movie.
He told Variety: “He was in a unique position for me in my career, and in my life. His passing is affecting me a lot. It can be incredibly lonely, being an actor and being in the spotlight.
“It definitely can be isolating. It’s very important to reach out to friends and foster relationships where you can talk and share stories. I wish in the past couple of years that I had an opportunity to do that with Matthew.
“I hold the time we shared together really dear. I’ve been thinking about him a lot, every day.”
Zac became a household name playing Troy Bolton in Disney franchise ‘High School Musical’ and he wishes he’d learned to “relax” about his fame at the time.
He said: “If I could go back and tell myself one thing, it would be to relax. It’s not the end of the world….
“I knew that those are things that you don’t really ever have control of. There’s a certain number of things you can control in your life, and the rest, you have to realise you’re not in control of it.”
To regain control, the ‘Iron Claw’ actor left Los Angeles and has been spending time in Australia but admitted he still doesn’t know where he wants to establish his “home base”.
He said: “Any time I want, I can spend time with my parents — I know they’re always going to be in California. But I’m thinking about where I want to build a home base and cultivate my life.
“It’s shocking — sometimes you wake up after doing three movies a year, and you’re like, I’ve neglected thinking about my own personal life for this long.”
Read the full interview with Zac at https://variety.com/2023/film/features/zac-efron-iron-claw-prep-high-school-musical-legacy-1235834297/