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Without a doubt, Zac Efron’s net worth doesn’t exactly fit into the titular mission of his latest Netflix series, Down to Earth with Zac Efron. But that doesn’t mean the star isn’t aware! The Disney Channel alum opened up in his new docuseries about the woes of fame and fortune, admitting that his experience isn’t always what it’s chalked up to be.
The series, which stars wellness guru Darin Olien as Zac’s trust co-host, sees the pair traveling around the world in search of better models of healthy living and sustainability. In one episode, Zac admits that he wants to “get out of Hollywood,” after realizing that it’s “not conducive” to a “long, happy, mentally-sound life.”
The episode in question sees Darin and Zac traveling to Sardinia, Italy—home to the world’s highest centenarian population (a.k.a., people who live past 100). In exploring the secrets to their long and healthy life, Zac begins to see his own life differently. “I’ve learned so much here, including that the secret to a long, healthy life is not just one thing, it’s many,” the Baywatch star says. “One major takeaway from this experience is that the locals maintain a low-stress, yet active lifestyle well into old age.”
“I’m definitely looking at my life a whole new way,” he tells Darin. “I gotta get out of Hollywood, I’m done. It’s not a place conducive to living a long, happy, mentally-sound life.”
While the star also admits he’s not planning to leave his acting career behind for good, he does consider the benefits of a move to somewhere new. “I love California, I just think that dense population of people and city life is clearly not leading to many centenarians,” Zac says.
“The nature of being an actor or being in the public eye, sort of leads to isolation at times,” he adds. So while Zac Efron’s net worth has definitely benefitted from his celebrity career, his mental health hasn’t always fared so well.
But there’s a plus to Zac Efron’s net worth in this situation, too—namely, it gives him the flexibility to move wherever he wants in the world. The star has recently been laying low in Australia, perhaps escaping some of the “isolation” that he originally feared (it is believed that Down to Earth season 1 was filmed sometime in 2018). Now, Zac Efron’s net worth has certainly come in handy as far as that goes. Here’s how much the actor has to burn through, should he choose to really “quit” Hollywood altogether.
How much did Zac Efron make for High School Musical?
Image: Walt Disney Co./courtesy Everett Collection.
Chances are you learned about Zac Efron after he starred as teenage heartthrob Troy Bolton in Disney Channel’s High School Musical franchise. But the truth is, the films weren’t always expected to be a hit. Multiple sources suggest that Zac was only paid around $100,000 for the first movie. Once HSM became the most commercially successful Disney Channel Original Movie (!!!) however, things began to look up for the young star.
By High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Zac was making an estimated $3 million to $5 million. The major paycheck bump meant Zac was making the most out of anyone in his cast.
In an interview with E! News in 2022, Zac revealed he’d be open to playing his High School Musical character, Troy Bolton, again. “Of course, of course. I mean, to have an opportunity in any form to go back and work with that team would be so amazing. My heart is still there. That would be incredible. I hope it happens,” he said at the time. In 2016, Variety reported Disney Channel had started casting on a High School Musical 4 movie, which planned to introduce a new cast of characters. “The potential movie is described as continuing the story of High School Musical, while introducing new East High Wildcats and their cross-town school rivals, the West High Knights,” Variety reported at the time.
Though conversations around High School Musical 4 slowed down, Disney Plus premiered a TV spinoff of the franchise, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, in 2019. The show starred Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett and other actors as students at a fictional version of East High School as they performed school musicals, including a production of High School Musical. High School Musical actors Lucas Grabeel and Kaycee Stroh made cameos as themselves in the first season, while alum Corbin Bleu had a main role in season 3. In September 2022, Disney confirmed that a fourth High School Musical movie, titled High School Musical 4: The Reunion, was in the works. “On their first day back, the principal announces that Disney has decided to make the long-awaited High School Musical 4: The Reunion movie on location at their beloved high school, and our Wildcats will be playing featured extras in the movie,” Disney’s description read. The announcement came after Zac posted an Instagram photo of him in front of East High School with the caption: “Don’t you…Forget about me.”
How much did Zac Efron make for The Greatest Showman?
Image: Everett Collection.
While Zac Efron’s role in HSM definitely put his name on the map, the star has taken that career success and used it to grab a handful of other lucrative opportunities. Since the franchise wrapped, Zac has starred in plenty of other films from Doctor Seuss’ The Lorax, Neighbors, Hairspray, 17 Again, and yes, 2017’s The Greatest Showman.
While it’s unclear how much exactly Zac made from Showman, we know the film grossed a whopping $439 million worldwide—so we can expect his paycheck was easily in the millions, too. For comparison’s sake, Zac’s starring role in 2009’s 17 Again earned him $1 million alone.
What is Zac Efron’s net worth?
Image: Michelle Quance/Variety via Getty Images.
What is Zac Efron’s net worth? Zac Efron’s net worth is $25 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Along with what he made from the High School Musical movies, The Greatest Showman and Down to Earth, Zac Efron’s net worth also includes his earnings from other blockbusters, such as 17 Again, Hairspray, Baywatch, Neighbors, The Lucky One and Dirty Grandpa. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Zac was paid $1 million to star as Matthew Perry’s younger self in 2009’s 17 Again. The site also reported that Zac was paid $100,000 for star as Link Larkin in 2007’s Hairspray, which was one of his first mainstream movie roles after High School Musical.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2016, Zac looked back on his success as a child star and how it affected him, for better and for worse. “No matter who you are, you face challenges growing up,” he said. “You go with your things, you learn, you have to. It’s impossible to lead an honest and fulfilling life as a man and not make mistakes and ‘fess up to them when you need to. But it’s especially humiliating when they happen to be so public and so scrutinized.” He continued, “When you have success young, and you accept the good things, you have to accept all of it. You have to accept the moments of glory but also a great responsibility. And that responsibility, to some degree, involves being a role model. At the same time, I’m a human being, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I’ve learned from each one.”
Zac also opened up about his struggle with alcohol and drug abuse at the time, which led to stint in rehab. “I was drinking a lot, way too much,” he said, acknowledging there were drugs, too. “It’s never one specific thing. I mean, you’re in your 20s, single, going through life in Hollywood, you know? Everything is thrown at you. I wouldn’t take anything back; I needed to learn everything I did. But it was an interesting journey, to say the least.”
Down to Earth with Zac Efron is available to stream on Netflix.
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