Zac Efron Didn’t Do Method Acting to Become Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
Outside of sharing behind-the-scenes photos, Zac Efron hasn’t revealed much about his portrayal of Ted Bundy in Joe Berlinger’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. That is, until now. Efron finally opened up about his transformation into one of the most gruesome serial killers in American history, responsible for the assault, rape, and murder of at least 30 women, much of which took place during the 1970s.
“It’s very interesting,” he tells Entertainment Tonight. “I think the movie itself is really deep.”
For those concerned about the portrayal of Bundy, Efron offered assurance that the film doesn’t glamorize the murderer at all. “It doesn’t really glorify Ted Bundy,” he says. “He wasn’t a person to be glorified. It simply tells a story and sort of how the world was able to be charmed over by this guy who was notoriously evil and the vexing position that so many people were put in, the world was put in. It was fun to go and experiment in that realm of reality.”
“Fun” isn’t exactly the word that comes to mind when thinking of Bundy, but Efron is likely talking about the experience of getting to inhabit a serious character, which is somewhat of a departure from his Disney-heavy résumé. It also helps that he didn’t go into too deep of a hole while trying to figure out how to inhabit Bundy’s mind. “I didn’t take it home,” he says. “I didn’t go full method and I didn’t have to like do any weird stuff to anybody to get into character. It’s a different type of film.”
Impressively, Efron has been switching between polar roles throughout the process: playing Ted Bundy and playing a friend Matthew McConaughey makes on his journey in Harmony Korine’s modern take on Cheech and Chong called The Beach Bum. “I got to meet up with Matthew McConaughey and do a couple days on Beach Bum,” Efron says of the experience. “It’s gonna be awesome. It was one of the most fun sets I’ve ever been on. I’m so excited for that movie overall and for Matthew. We go way back [since like the movie] Paperboy. I looked up to that guy my entire life, basically.”
Related: Zac Efron Is Just the Latest Disney Boy to Play a Cold-Blooded Killer
Zac Efron’s Body Transformation From Lanky Teen Heartthrob to Baywatch Stud
In A Hawaiian inspired button-down with cuffed sleeves, the lanky young actor appeared on the red carpet of the WB Networks’ 2004 All Star summer Party.
A year laster and still without any noticeable muscle definition, Zac sported another button down with cuffed sleeves at the breakfast with the cast and crew of ‘High School Musical’.
The teenage heart throb flexed his muscles on the red carpet at the premiere of ‘High School Musical 2’.
At the 2007 Madrid ‘ Hairspray’ Photocall, we begin to see the peak of slight muscle definition in what later becomes Zac’s infamous athletic body.
Still with his muscles on the lean side, Zac rocked a fitted mode-sleeve button down and vest to the 2008 Teen Choice Awards.
Tanned and visibly chiseled a year later at the Teen Choice Awards, Zac opted for his go-to classic button down with cuffed sleeves look.
While visiting Maui in June 2010, the young stud showed off his hot physique after taking a dip.
Zac soaked up the sun in Maui in June 2010 – shirtless of course.
In 2011, Zac modestly showed off his biceps in a simple black tee while sitting court side at a Lakers game.
Zac relaxed to music shirtless at his Sydney hotel in April 2012.
While filming his 2014’s ‘Bad Neighbors’, the actor frequently showed off his incredibly buff body on and off the big screen.
With the star being in the best shape then ever before, he couldn’t resist showing off his chiseled abs and biceps on the 2014 MTV Movie Awards stage.
While filming ‘We are your friends’, Zac showed off his sculpted bod again while running on the beach.
Acting out a scene from his new film ‘Bad Neighbors 2’ at the 2015 MTV Movie Awards, the stud shows off his hot bod once again under a green fatigue jacket.
Zac was spotted walking the streets of Los Angeles last year flexing his muscles without even trying.
While filming his newest movie ‘Baywatch’ Zac shows off all of his hard training work by shooting shirtless scenes showing of his incredibly ripped bod.
