14 DAY TRIAL // “High School Musical” star and the idol of an entire generation of screaming female fans, Zac Efron, has had it with the goody two-shoes image he’s had onscreen so far, and is consequently setting his sights higher and, at the same time, in a different direction. For instance, his next role, if he had a say in the matter, would be that of a villain in one of the upcoming James Bond movies, the actor himself admits in a recent interview with ShowbizSpy.
Nabbing a part in the films from the 007 franchise, even if only a starring one that amounts to just a few minutes in front of the camera, is a very good launching platform for any young artist. Playing the villain, on that note, is like suddenly being lifted from obscurity and having one’s reputation of accomplished thespian consolidated, it has often been said. Of course, in Efron’s case, one can’t talk of obscurity, but that still leaves the question of his need to step away from the squeaky clean image he’s built for himself with the hit “High School Musical” films.
“I’m a huge James Bond fan. I’d love to be a Bond baddie. I’ve seen pretty much every Bond film. Sean Connery is my favorite and I really like Goldeneye with Pierce Brosnan,” Zac reveals in the interview with the aforementioned publication. Understandably, the chance of sharing the same movie set with none other than Daniel Craig, the latest actor to take on the part of the sleek and deadly 007 agent, is also extremely appealing for Efron, since Craig is often referred to as one of the most talented and dedicated actors of the moment.
Still on the topic of future ideal roles that Zac feels would shape his career by showing him that being typecast is never a good thing for an actor his age, the star also includes a part in a remake of the 1967 classic “The Graduate.” Being seduced onscreen by an older woman and then finding himself at the center of a love triangle would be Efron’s “ideal” role from where he’s standing right now, as he puts it himself.
“I’m still waiting for that script and that director,” he said. “I like a lot of movies from the 70s. A movie I just saw again and one of my favorites is ‘The Graduate’,” Zac Efron further explains. However, until either of these two dream roles become accessible to the star, fans can see him in “Me and Orson Welles” opposite Claire Danes.