HSM’s Vanessa Hudgens Makes Rare Comment on Zac Efron Romance

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High School Musical really was the start of something new for Vanessa Hudgens.

The actress revealed some personal details about her relationship with Zac Efron, explaining how he first impressed her when they auditioned for the role as teenagers.

Vanessa-who is expecting her second child with husband Cole Tucker-shared on Bart Johnson‘s Get Your Head In The Game podcast that her initial audition for the Disney Channel movie involved singing either “Angels” by Jessica Simpson or “Reflection“ from Mulan. She then immediately connected with Zac at a group audition.

During the last audition, she recalled, “There was another girl competing for the role of Gabriella, and one other guy auditioning for Troy. We tried different combinations, swapped partners, and that’s how it all worked out.”

The 36-year-old explained that, having trained in musical theater, it’s a passion that continues to be important to her. Therefore, she was thrilled with the opportunity.

You know, working with Zac was a real highlight for me! Looking back, I was just a kid on set, and I remember thinking, ‘Wow, he’s adorable!’ Honestly, the chemistry we had felt so genuine. It was so real, even then!

She admitted her cute glances at him during the 2006 movie’s opening karaoke scene were “so real.”

“Yes, it genuinely does help,” she explained, referring to the connection she shared with her co-star both on and off camera. “It’s particularly beneficial when you’re young and everything feels fresh and innocent.”

Looking back, it’s amusing how naive I seemed, but I was also *acting* naive – it felt like an exaggeration, a performance. People probably thought, ‘Wow, she’s so pure,’ she explained. ‘That *was* genuinely part of me, but my rebellious teenage side was simultaneously thinking, ‘No way, that’s not the whole story!”

Oh my gosh, can you believe it? She and Zac actually started dating in real life! It all began while they were filming the very first movie back in 2005 – I poured over every set photo, trying to find clues! Sadly, it didn’t last; they broke up around 2010, and I was devastated. I still have all the articles about them, though!

Since then, the Princess Switch actress-who later dated Austin Butler for nine years, from 2011 to 2020-has generally kept her romantic relationships private and avoided discussing them publicly.

“People only get a glimpse of my life,” she shared with Nylon in 2022, “I’ve also experienced two significant relationships that profoundly changed me, and only I truly know the details of what happened.”

But, as she quipped at the time, “When I write my memoir, it’ll be amazing.”

 

Before her revealing book is released, brush up on even more behind-the-scenes stories from High School Musical.

The title High School Musical wasn’t the original plan – it started as a temporary name while Disney and the people making the movie were still figuring out what to call it.

2. Hunter Parrish and Sterling Knight both tried out for the part of Troy Bolton, but Zac Efron ultimately got the role. Interestingly, both actors later appeared with him in 17 Again, with Parrish playing a rival from his high school days and Knight portraying his son.

3. Corbin Bleu originally tried out for the part of Ryan Evans, as he told Buzzfeed, “I didn’t know about the role of Chad Danforth at the time.” After getting cast as Chad, Corbin was the one who created all of the sayings featured on Chad’s distinctive graphic t-shirts. “They’re stored in a box in my garage,” he shared about the collection.

4. Before landing the parts of Sharpay and Taylor, both Ashley Tisdale and Monique Coleman originally tried out for the role of Gabriella. Monique shared, “I just knew that I was terrible at the audition. I didn’t feel prepared enough to sing and dance.”

5. Lucas Grabeel initially auditioned for the role of Troy, but quickly realized his chances were slim. He explained to Buzzfeed, “I auditioned right after Drew Seeley, who ultimately sang for Troy in the movie. I heard him singing because the walls in the audition space were thin, and I immediately thought, ‘Oh no, I’m not going to get this role – that guy is amazing!”

6. Just so you’re aware: Drew actually sang as the voice of Troy in the original HSM film. He later stepped in for Zac on the High School Musical tour when their schedules clashed. However, for the sequels, Zac performed all of Troy’s vocal tracks himself.

That moment was really important to me. I had to be firm and insist that my vocals be included in the recordings,” Zac explained to the Orlando Sentinel. “With the first film, after all the work was done, my voice wasn’t on the final tracks. I didn’t receive a clear reason why. It just ended up happening that way, which unfortunately left me in a difficult situation.

7. As reported in Rolling Stone‘s famous article about Zac (also known as “The New American Heartthrob”), it’s said that around one-third of teenage girls in the U.S. had a poster of him in their rooms. However, the source for this information was an unverified website.

8. The competitive dynamic between Ashley and Lucas felt just as intense behind the scenes as it did when they were acting… initially. “We weren’t close. We weren’t good friends…we really disliked each other,” Ashley shared in a video she made with Lucas for her YouTube channel. Lucas explained that they “didn’t start off with a great relationship” when they began filming the first movie, but they eventually became close friends. How fabulous!

9. In a Buzzfeed interview, Lucas shared that he advocated for exploring Ryan’s sexuality from the beginning. “After reading the script, the first thing I said to [Kenny Ortega] was, ‘OK, Kenny, Ryan’s gay, right? I know it’s Disney Channel so I’m not really going to be *explicitly* gay, but I mean, yeah, right?’ And he said, ‘Well, think of it this way: You have the opportunity to play a character who’s young, he’s into theater, he’s an artist and let’s approach it from that perspective,’” Lucas explained. “He told me about his own life and said, ‘I see a lot of myself in Ryan. Yeah, I knew I was gay in high school, but I didn’t tell anyone.’ It was about making it feel authentic.”

10. Lucas was the creative force behind Ryan’s memorable jazz squares, as well as the vocal warm-ups for both Ryan and Sharpay. He explained, “It’s both a playful nod to and a tribute to two choreographers from my childhood who frequently included jazz squares in their routines.” While they never explicitly said, ‘Everybody loves a good jazz square,’ Lucas felt it was a natural fit and intentionally made it a recurring element, wanting Ryan to incorporate a jazz square into every performance.

11. While filming, Kenny had a unique tradition: a “yawn jar.” Whenever someone on set yawned, they had to put money in it. Monique explained that every Christmas, for about five years, Kenny would donate the collected money to charity in the crew’s names. The money specifically went to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Utah, she noted.

12. Once filming for the first movie wrapped up, Monique went home to find an eviction notice and was having difficulty covering her expenses. Lucas faced a similar situation, struggling to find work after High School Musical.

13. Following the huge popularity of the first movie, Disney let fans help shape the upcoming sequel. They got to vote on things like the sayings on Chad’s shirts, what kind of sandwiches Troy and Gabriella would eat on their date, and even the short cameo by Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus.

Just as she played Ms. Darbus, the drama teacher at East High, Alyson Reed also guided and supported the young actors behind the scenes. She even later became Monique’s acting instructor. “She was the person I felt the most comfortable with,” Monique shared with Buzzfeed. “I truly believe she helped me regain my confidence.”

As a lifestyle expert, I’ve always been fascinated by the behind-the-scenes stories of popular franchises! Did you know the third High School Musical film almost went in a *very* different direction? Initially, they were planning a Halloween-themed movie called Haunted High School Musical, but thankfully, that idea didn’t stick. As MTV reported at the time, even Zac Efron admitted, “Yeah, I don’t think the haunted thing lasted very long.” Ultimately, they landed on High School Musical: Senior Year, which was special because it was the *only* HSM movie released in theaters!

16. Selena Gomez was nearly chosen to play Tiara Gold, the new competitor to Sharpay, in HSM 3. However, the popular Disney star decided against taking the part, explaining to the New York Daily News that she wanted to pursue more demanding acting roles. “I want to be seen as a serious actress for years to come, and Disney wasn’t the path to get there,” she said. Ali Lohan was also considered for the role, which eventually went to Jemma McKenzie-Brown.

You know, as someone who follows these things, it was really neat to see Chad’s dad finally show up in the third movie! What makes it even cooler is that Mr. Danforth was played by David Reivers, who is actually Corbin’s father in real life. It’s not the first time they’ve played a father-son duo either – they also shared the screen as father and son in Jump In! and Free Style!

18. In an interview with Buzzfeed, Ashley shared that she kept most of Sharpay’s outfits from the original movie, jokingly admitting, “Did I think I was going to wear them on the red carpet? Probably, at the time.” When Disney later asked for the clothes back, Ashley responded in a very Sharpay-like way, saying she’d rather have toothpicks stuck in her eyes. “I was like, “No, this is mine.’ So Disney doesn’t have any of the costumes from the first film-I do.”

19. After the first movie was released, fans were very interested in the romantic lives of the cast, and many believed Zac Efron and Ashley Tisdale were a couple. “I remember people thinking that Zac Efron and I dated, because we were on a lot of magazine covers together, because we were promoting the first movie,” Ashley explained. “So, we just thought that was really funny, because he was obviously dating someone else, and he’s my best friend.”

20. And then there was Zanessa. High School Musical fans were completely shocked – and excited – when it became public that Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens were dating in real life. They dated for four years, quickly becoming one of the most popular young couples in Hollywood before they broke up in 2010. Vanessa remembered on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast that “it all started very naturally,” and she added, “I couldn’t have been more thankful for that relationship when it happened.”

21. Although they maintained a professional demeanor while filming, there was one instance where they argued during the making of HSM 3. “I recall a time we had a disagreement during rehearsals,” she shared, “and I remember Kenny Ortega rounding the corner looking incredibly worried, as if our movie was about to be ruined!”

22. Back in 2016, Disney Channel put out an open call for actors for High School Musical 4, hoping to find a fresh group of East High Wildcats to carry on the story. Jeffrey Hornaday, the director behind popular Disney Channel movies Teen Beach Movie and Teen Beach 2, was set to direct and handle the choreography. However, the movie was eventually cancelled and never made.

23. According to Billboard, the High School Musical soundtrack was the best-selling album of 2006, selling 3.7 million copies. It was also the first soundtrack from a TV movie to reach the top spot on the sales chart.

24. High School Musical 2 remains one of the most popular Disney Channel Original Movies ever made, attracting an impressive 17.2 million viewers. At the time, Disney Channel president Gary Marsh described it as “our Super Bowl.” He also stated, “I believe we’ve moved beyond High School Musical simply being a movie, and it’s now become a full-blown High School Musical phenomenon.”

Despite a small production budget of only $11 million, High School Musical 3: Senior Year earned over $250 million globally in 2008. It opened at the top of the box office in its debut week.

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2025-10-02 06:18