Interview: Zac Efron Meets Orson Welles!

Zac is moving on. He dances only very briefly, sings one song and doesn't play basketball at all in his new, funny dramady tribute to the New York theater Me and Orson Welles. In the film, Zac, who costars with gorgeous, slightly older woman Claire Danes, plays a high school senior but we see him only briefly in classes since his character is crazy for the arts and is thrilled to get a small role in the Orson Welles play "Caesar" (Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar") in 1930's New York City.  

For those not listening in their Drama or History of Cinema classes, Orson Welles was a legend. In the 1930's, at only 22, he was producing and acting in New York theater and voice acted in countless radio plays, many of which he wrote. His scary "War of the Worlds" broadcast convinced the whole country that invading Martians had actually landed in New Jersey!

Later on, Welles created and directed the most classic of film classics Citizen Kane.  It was only in his later years that he gained tons of weight and was ostracized from Hollywood (read up. He's interesting). Zac's director Rick Linklater told us, "This is a hard part to pull off but Zac has charisma, intelligence and screen presence". We agree. Linklater called his film "my valentine to actors and the spirit of putting on a show".

We sat down in Beverly Hills with Zac and Claire recently and learned that both had studied Orson and his films when they were in high school or college.  Zac was very stoked to play a young man from another era who was as interested in theater as he was when he was younger. Claire, who plays a very ambitious, sexy theater secretary who is basically sleeping her way to the top, really loved the classy, funny script.

Mental picture time. Imagine Zac in gray Henley shirt with snaps at the neck, jeans and tennies and munching on some Velamints. Claire has on a beautiful, while eyelet, lace, puffy-sleeved blouse and black slacks. Let's chat Orson, theater and Zac's next moves....

TeenHollywood: Zac, does it give you a sense of accomplishment that, because of your participation in this film, there will be a lot of young people out there meeting Orson Welles who maybe never would have?

Zac: Exactly!  People say, 'what about Orson Welles is going to attract a young audience?' but what I'm hoping is that the audience that does come is able to enjoy this experience with such an iconic guy. Hopefully, it'll spark their interest and they'll be able to learn more and go and find out about Welles and his amazing, very interesting roller coaster career.  

TeenHollywood: Both of you, why this film? Zac you probably didn't have any shortage of scripts and this is so different from anything you've done so far.

Zac: Yeah. You know we tried to do the musical version but we couldn't get the rights [we laugh]. It was different and it was a very unique opportunity for me at the time and still is.  I think it was something that didn't seem so cut and dry.  It wasn't an obvious decision and, even I was a bit surprised and that's very cool.  I hope I can continue to maintain that and have those options. That's why we do this; to grow and try new things and that was exactly what this movie represented for me and so thank God. It came at a perfect time.

Claire: The script was wonderful and it's really not that often that you read a script that is immediately engaging and coherent and charming.  I loved all of the characters. They were all so detailed and specific and Richard [Linklater] was directing it and I just loved his work.

Zac:  And it seemed ambitious to me about Orson. Rick [Linklater] always says we made sort of a screwball comedy at times about Welles which is something he would never have done himself, never would have made a screwball comedy so we put him into a movie that he never would have been a part of.  

Claire: That's so funny. I didn't hear that.

Zac: I always thought that was kind of funny.  Rick is full of those.

TeenHollywood: What kind of research did you do? Did you read the original book [upon which the script was based]?

Zac: I read the original book.  For my age, I pretty much had the standard (Welles knowledge).  I studied him in high school a little bit before that and was familiar with a lot of his work, "War of the Worlds" (radio broadcast). Coming into this, I thought I was pretty well-read on Orson and then immediately found out that I hadn't even scratched the surface on this guy. Rick was the one who really filled us in and supplied with endless literature, the articles and old photos. I think I've seen every picture of Orson that ever existed.

TeenHollywood: Were you a fan of his work?

Zac: Yeah. Definitely

Claire: It's hard not to be.

TeenHollywood: What was your first introduction to Orson Welles? A movie or....?

Claire: I discovered Orson Welles in college. I don't know if it was my Freshman English professor who screened Citizen Kane for us and I ended up writing a twenty-page term paper on it. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Many a term paper is dedicated to Orson Welles. So, I fell in love with him there and since, I've seen a few other of his films but didn't realize that he'd been such a revolutionary figure in theater as well and then radio. He was really a maverick in so many different mediums, at such a young age. It's mind-boggling.

Zac:  At 22, he'd done more than anybody could ever dream.

TeenHollywood: He was pretty arrogant at 22, though.

Claire: Well, yeah and rightfully so. The movie talks about that, the confusion of that. Even Sonja (Claire's character) says 'with someone like Orson you excuse a lot of behavior'. It's true. When somebody's ego is in service of really brilliant, innovative work, it's hard to criticize their failures as a human sometimes.

TeenHollywood: Zac, what was your first introduction to Orson Welles and when?

Zac:  I was probably sixteen and I had worked with a director who said his favorite movie of all time was 'Citizen Kane' and, as a wrap gift, he gave me the DVD and I was definitely fascinated by it and thought it was an incredible movie but was probably too young to fully appreciate it at that point.

TeenHollywood: You can't seem to escape it. Even Orson Welles asked you to sing in this movie!

Zac: (laughs) Exactly!  

TeenHollywood: Richard (Zac's character) has to learn a lesson about dealing with Hollywood-type egos.  Have you had to learn any lessons like that?

Zac: I think things have changed a little bit.  I've never had an experience quite like that. I'd say it was reminiscent of a lot of my early theater experiences.  It's pretty cutthroat and there was always another kid to pull from the sidelines ready to take your place. But, I never experienced a guy quite like Orson.

Claire: Not many people have.

TeenHollywood: Do either of you ever just sit down when preparing for a project and watch a ton of movies and then justify it as research?

Claire:  I didn't with this movie.

Zac: This predates any of Welles' films. At this point, in Welles career, he hadn't done that.

TeenHollywood: But just sit and enjoy his movies and justify it for research?

Zac: Oh, yeah. I've done that.

Claire: Netflix is great for that.  My husband (actor Hugh Dancy) and I watched a lot of Hitchcock movies in bulk and there's a lot to be gained from that; from focusing strictly on one artist's canon (of work). I recently presented Robert De Niro with an award and watched a lot of his movies.  It's true, that when you see the work in concentration like that, it's really revealing.

TeenHollywood: Zac, your character Richard is based on a real person.  Did you get to meet him?

Zac: No. He's based on a real person but Rick was very hands-on in trying to get as much of his story as we could.  All the stuff with setting off the fire alarms (backstage at the theater) was real.  Other than that, he steered pretty far away from the real guy.

TeenHollywood: Zac, did you like the clothes in the film from the 1930's era? He was sure wearing a lot of plaid.

Zac: I think I stole some of the stuff. Always, on the last day, they try and get it out of your trailer really quick. Always steal some of your wardrobe.  You never know what you're going to need.

TeenHollywood: Since you are so popular, does something you wear usually effect fashion a little bit? Or when you are stylizing?

Zac: Stylizing?  (joking) It's all about accessories [we laugh]. I notice people that look good.  I notice fashion on other people.  I enjoy when people try to look their best.  I was always taught to try and look my best. That's my main influence.  I'm not looking to influence fashion any more than the next guy. But I try to do my best when I'm out representing my movies.

TeenHollywood: Did you two meet over coffee or anything to talk about your parts before filming?

Claire: We rehearsed. Mostly with Christian (McKay, who gives an amazing performance as young Orson Welles) and Rick for a few days and then the people within the play within the movie rehearsed again.  I wasn't involved with that.

Zac: Quadruple-spaced rehearsals (he wiggles his eyebrows. He's referring to a term used in the film. During those days, a script would get to the love/sex scene and just.. quadruple space and leave it to the reader's imagination).

TeenHollywood: Claire, can you talk a bit about rehearsing with Christian and developing your character? She isn't real but a compilation of people. Did you base her on anyone you knew?

Claire: No.  She's written so well. She was really vivid on the page so I didn't have to stretch my imagination too much. She's bright and she's ambitious. I'm always impressed by that.  I always think that's a good thing especially in that time when women were discouraged to do that and their goals were more confined and limited and she's pretty brazen.  And Christian? He was great. He adapted it pretty brilliantly.

Zac:  Originally, he alluded to the fact that he was a bit nervous coming in with very little experience on film and I just remember that, from the get-go, from the second I heard him speak and hung out with him and saw his personality I never felt more confident in a lead actor, a leading man. He's very intelligent and a very quick study. Me and Claire, we sat in the room, (to Claire) remember the first day of rehearsals when he read his lines for the first time as Orson...

Claire: Right.

Zac: I was shocked.  I was floored.  

Claire: He'd also played the role on stage and that was a good foundation for him but he was playing him much later in life on stage and of course, film was a different kind of expression.

Zac: He exceeded our wildest expectations. Like I had any expectations, but it was absolutely incredible and even better just to be with him, just to hang out.  He definitely deserves all this (the Oscar buzz he is getting).

TeenHollywood: Zac, you wrapped The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud in Vancouver. Can you talk about who you play in the film?

Zac: I play Charlie who is kind of the golden boy in his high school and then his life sort of takes a turn with the death of his little brother. It's a story about how he copes with that and it's sort of a love story. It's kind of hard to explain.  It always comes across like I'm digging graves (when I tell it).

Claire: Also, he's just finished filming it too.  I never know what a movie is about when I've just done it, you know (laughter).  I get too close to it and it's fuzzy. Hopefully, when I get to see it in it's final form a year later.. Oh, that was (what it was about).

Zac: Or when you hear it (described) and it makes sense out of someone else's mouth.

TeenHollywood: And Claire, what's next?

Claire: I'm doing a movie for HBO called "Temple Grandin" (about a woman who became a bestselling author and one of the top scientists in the field of humane livestock handling).  

We've run out of time. Zac and Claire thank us. Zac forgets his Velamints and I give them to him.