David Efron, Zac Efron, Starla Baskett and Dylan Efron at Zac’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in Los Angeles on Dec. 11, 2023.Photo:Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Zac Efronis feeling grateful for his parents.
As he wasawarded a staron theHollywood Walk of Fameon Monday, theIron Clawactor opened up to PEOPLE about how his parents, Starla Baskett and David Efron, supported him on the path to achieving his acting dreams.
“My mom and dad, they’re the reason I’m here today,” says Efron, 36. “They believed in me when I don’t know how they did. It must’ve been difficult to drive me back and forth to auditions when I was 15, three hours from the Arroyo Grande out here, just to have such a small shot.”
“So to have them here and to both be here in person is … it makes me emotional, man. It’s very special. It means the world to me,” Efron adds.
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David Efron, Zac Efron, Starla Baskett and Dylan Efron at Zac’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in Los Angeles on Dec. 11, 2023.Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
“My parents love me in very different ways,” Efron toldEllein 2016. “But they checked every box. My dad always taught me to be driven. I was always the shortest kid at school. Always the worst kid on the team. I’d come home after practice and my dad would build a basketball hoop. Then we’d go out and shoot 100 free throws. Pretty soon every time I got fouled I would make my free throws.”
TheGreatest Showmanstar’s father is also dad todaughter Olivia and son Henryfrom his second marriage.
Efron, who first broke out as the star of theHigh School Musicaltrilogy in the 2000s, is the 2,767th entertainment-industry figure to receive a star, per an officialpress release.
Zac Efron and his mom Starla Baskett at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony.Leon Bennett/Getty Images
Leon Bennett/Getty Images
And as for what hisHSM-era self would say about him receiving the honor, Efron tells PEOPLE, “Oh geez. Holy cow. I don’t think he wouldn’t believe me. Or yeah, I think he’d probably laugh.”
During the ceremony, Efron also paid tribute to his17 AgaincostarMatthew Perry, whodied in Octoberat age 54.
Sharing that Perry was “so kind and generous with me” while they were filming the 2009 movie, Efron recalled, “Collaborating with him and [director Burr Steers] — it was so much fun, and really did propel me and motivate me in so many ways.”
“It really pushed me into the next chapter of my career, and for that,thank you so much, Matthew,” he added. “Thinking about you a lot today.”
source: people.com
