From playing a basketball star turned musical theatre performer in High School Musical to giving us a chilling portrayal of convicted serial killer Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, no one can accuse Zac Efron of not having range. And we think his latest role for the Australian survival thriller film, Gold, might just be the 34-year-old actor’s most challenging one yet. We barely recognized him in the trailer!
In the first teaser trailer for the movie, which was released on January 31st, the Greatest Showman actor looks a million miles away from his usual polished, sexy self for his role as a desert drifter. Gone was his clean shaven perfectly sculpted face, and in its place, was a face covered in dirt, visible injuries, and an extremely scruffy and unkempt beard. Clearly proud of how far he has come as an actor, the Neighbors actor shared the trailer to his Instagram account, and captioned the post: “Filming this was brutal— but I love this [expletive]. So proud of everyone involved and thank you to everyone who has watched so far.”
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So what is the movie about? As per IMDB: “Set against the backdrop of a vast, unique and unforgiving landscape, Gold is a taut thriller about greed and the lengths people will go to secure themselves a fortune. When two drifters travelling through the desert stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found, the dream of immense wealth and greed takes hold. They hatch a plan to protect and excavate their bounty with one man leaving to secure the necessary equipment. The other man remains and must endure the harsh desert climate, preying wolves and intruders, whilst battling the creeping doubt that he has been abandoned to his own fate.” We have no idea which of these men Efron actually plays, but the website currently names his character as Man #1, while Anthony Hayes is listed as Man #2.
The harsh conditions depicted in the movie weren’t all courtesy of green screens and CGI, as the Dirty Grandpa actor recalled some of the difficulties he endured while filming in the south Australian desert in November 2020, in a behind-the-scenes interview which can be seen in the teaser. “When we drove out to the location I was just blown away by the scenery and sort of feel and the vibe of the area,” Efron said.
"Unbelievably mesmerizing. Very desolate and dry and very harsh conditions. We filmed through some of the gnarliest conditions I've ever witnessed in my life. It showed a lot of solidarity and teamwork on behalf of the crew and our production. It was really really fun." Director Anthony Hayes was full of praise for the Baywatch actor, and recalled how well he coped with what he also described as "brutal" shooting conditions.
"It was a real challenge. It was probably the most brutal shoot I've done in 35 years. It was extraordinary," Hayes confirmed in an interview with The Age, before complimenting Efron's performance. "It was a performance he'd never given before. It was extremes he'd never worked in before," he added. "But with A-list actors who are used to a level of comfort, you never know what's going to happen once you get into the desert. It's easy when you're just on a Zoom call. Once Zac got out there, he was just the hardest working dude you could get. He didn't complain once." Gold is slated for release in theaters on March 11th, and will be released On Demand one week later on March 18th.
