Actor Zac Efron has had a long and successful career as a film star, but he became a household name starring as Troy Bolton in High School Musical (which is available with a Disney+ subscription). He’d go on to reprise that role in two sequels, although the 2006 original will always have a special place in the hearts of his longtime fans. Efron is surprisingly humble talking about his HSM days and filming “Get’cha Head in the Game”, describing it as “just magical.” Let’s break it all down.
Zac Efron belted out tunes like “Breaking Free” throughout High School Musical, but the musical basketball sequence “Get’cha Head in the Game” is one of the most iconic. Efron recently spoke with Variety about his time on that beloved DCOM, and spoke about the joy on the set. As he put it,
The cast and the group of people making that movie was just magical. There’s a time and a place for everything and everything happens for a reason. High School musical is like the prime example for that. I’ve never had so much fun… maybe a few times … but it was still to this day maybe one of the most fun experiences of my whole life. And it just shows on camera.
How sweet is that? It sounds like High School Musical was a dream job at the time, even if it include lots of hard work and choreography. The joy Efron describes definitely translated onscreen, as the Disney Channel original movie would be a huge hit and start a franchise that continues to this day.
Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens never appeared in the Disney+ series, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is a popular original show on the streaming service. And most of the cast of High School Musical did end up with a cameo in that new iteration of East High. Later in that same interview, Efron talked about the surprisingly quick way “Get’cha Head in the Game” was filmed for the movie, saying:
That whole first movie we’d practice those dance routines once. or twice. We’d just get up there and do it. So I couldn’t believe ‘Get’cha head in the game.’ I couldn’t believe we got a clean take of that. The first like couple takes there were basketballs flying everywhere. It was chaos. We were like, ‘We’re never gonna get this.’ And then everyone just nailed it. It changed everything for me. I had just a really great group of friends. It was fun to be out there doing really exciting, fun, music-forward work; it wasn’t so serious. It definitely made me very popular, so that was interesting.
Another intriguing look at the production of High School Musical. That basketball number was one of the most impressive sequences in the film for obvious reasons, and they really made it all look easy. But per Efron, there wasn’t all that much rehearsal for the intricate musical number.
Efron would end up playing Troy Bolton in the two High School Musical sequels, with the threequel getting a full theatrical release. Since then he’s become a Hollywood leading man, with Efron often breaking hearts thanks to his ripped physique. Although he credits HSM for serving as a jumping point, including having enough money to move into his own place in L.A.
Zac Efron can be seen in theaters now starring in The Iron Claw, which has gotten good reviews. Be sure to check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.