Kenny Ortega is breaking Zac Efron free from the lip-syncing rumors.
While it’s been long known that Drew Seeley sang the vocals for Troy Bolton in High School Musical, the director set the record straight on the suggestion that Efron—who played the basketball star—didn’t do any singing in the 2006 movie.
“He sang in the first show,” Ortega told Entertainment Tonight in an interview that aired July 29. “The songs were written before Zac got the role. So, although he could sing and he had a lovely voice, it wasn’t the voice that the songs were written for. So, he sang everything and then we dubbed parts of it so that it had greater vocal strength.”
For the subsequent films, however, Efron’s register was on the mind when the music was crafted. “But the second and third movie, everything was written for him,” Ortega continued. “And that’s important that people know that Zac Efron did sing.”
And the Iron Claw actor has since showed off his vocal prowess since in musicals like Hairspray and The Greatest Showman.
As for Seeley, he previously gave an insight into his relationship with Efron as the Troy Bolton fill-in.
“I’ve met Zac a few times at parties and whatnot,” he told E! News in April 2024. “But I spent, by far the least amount of time with Zac compared to any other cast member in High School Musical because I was really only brought in when he was unavailable or not around.”
In fact, Seeley joined cast members Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu and more on their 2006 tour. But the Another Cinderella Story alum made it clear he has nothing but respect for Efron, adding, “I’m sure one day we’ll sit down as old men and hash it out.”
He even has no qualms about ultimately losing the part to the Efron after his own audition.
“I was a good five, six years older than Vanessa,” the 43-year-old explained. “So in my mind, that had something to do with it. I probably didn’t look right with the lineup of everybody else. And also, Zac is a very talented actor and was great in the role. So I think they did it right.”
Keep reading to see where the rest of the Wildcats are now…
Zac Efron (Troy Bolton)
Professional Life: The High School Musical films made ZacEfron an official Hollywood superstar and he landed roles in movies such as 17 Again, Charlie St. Cloud, That Awkward Moment, Neighbors and its sequel, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and the big screen adaptation of Baywatch, where he got to showcase his now-notoriously hot physique alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
In 2017, he returned to his musical roots (he also sang in the 2007 film Hairspray) with a role in The Greatest Showman. After playing the infamous Ted Bundy in the 2019 Netflix film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, he signed on for an adventure docus-series entitled Killing Zac Efron, that, ironically, actually almost killed him. Efron later starred in 2023’s TheIron Claw as well as 2024’s A Family Affair. And if you were wondering if he’d ever get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, you can bet it as he celebrated the major milestone in December 2023.
Personal Life: Efron dated Vanessa Hudgens, who played his onscreen love interest Gabriella Montez, for about four years before they split in 2010. He later dated model Sam Miro between 2014 and 2016. In 2020, he began dating model Vanessa Valladares while living in Australia. They split after less than a year.
Vanessa Hudgens (Gabriella Montez)
Professional Life: After appearing in all three High School Musical films, Hudgens went on to star in films such as Bandslam, Beastly, Sucker Punch, Spring Breakers, Machete Kills, Second Act and Bad Boys for Life.
“High School Musical was a fantastic journey, but it completely derailed me from where I originally saw my career going,” she told The Guardian in an August 2018 interview. “I always wanted to be the indie girl; I always wanted to be in the movies where I’m playing a drug addict or a stripper or a prostitute. That was my goal since I was like, 11.”
In 2015, the actress made her Broadway debut in a revival of the musical Gigi. The following year, she returned to her musical roots and played Rizzo in Fox’s Grease Live! Then, in 2019, Hudgens joined Fox’s live staging of Rent. Plus, she starred in Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s movie adaptation of Rent creator Jonathan Larson‘s autobiographical musical tick, tick…BOOM!. In 2024, the star also won The Masked Singer.
In addition to acting and singing, Hudgens is a founder of brands Caliwater and Know Beauty.
Personal Life: In 2011, a year after Hudgens and Efron split, she began dating actor Austin Butler. The couple broke things off in early 2020. In December 2023, Hudgens married MLB star Cole Tucker after three years of dating. Three months later, Hudgens announced her pregnancy by debuting her baby bump on the 2024 Oscars red carpet. She and her husband welcomed their baby that summer.
Ashley Tisdale (Sharpay Evans)
Professional Life: After the High School Musical era, AshleyTisdale continued a pop music career for a few years and enjoyed moderate success. Her album, Symptoms, was released in May 2019. The actress also appeared in her own straight-to-video High School Musical spinoff film Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure. In 2010, she starred in the short-lived but popular cheerleader series Hellcats.
Over the years, Tisdale went on to have small roles on shows such as Sons of Anarchy and The Crazy Ones and also appeared in Scary Movie 5. Plus, she voiced Candace Flynn on the animated show Phineas and Ferb for more than a decade. And, of course, she starred as Maddie on Disney’s Suite Life. Tisdale has also added producer to her resume—executive producing the Bravo series Miss Advised and the ABC Family-turned-Freeform sitcom Young & Hungry—as well as Frenshe founder.
Personal Life: The actress wed Christopher French in 2014. In September 2020, Tisdale announced she was pregnant with her first child. The duo welcomed daughter Jupiter Iris French in March 2021 and announced they were expecting their second child in a March 2024 announcement. Tisdale and French welcomed daughter Emerson that September.
Lucas Grabeel (Ryan Evans)
Professional Life: Post HSM, Lucas Grabeel played Toby Kennish on ABC Family-turned-Freeform’s Switched at Birth. He has also voiced characters on animated shows such as Family Guy, Elena of Avalor, Sheriff Callie’s Wild West, Spirit Riding Free and Pinky Malinky. In 2019, he appeared as himself in Disney+’s meta-series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
Personal Life: The actor was dating actress Emily Morris for several years. He is now in a relationship with writer/producer Rahim El-Ounsi.
Corbin Bleu (Chad Danforth)
Professional Life: Corbin Bleu went on to star in Ashton Kutcher‘s short-lived drama series, The Beautiful Life: TBL, and played Jeffrey King on One Life to Life. He also had roles on The Good Wife, Blue Bloods, Castle, Drop Dead Diva, The Fosters, The Middle, Chicago Med and Supergirl. In 2013, he competed on Dancing With the Stars and placed second with partner Karina Smirnoff.
Bleu made his Broadway debut in 2010 with In the Heights. The following year, the actor appeared in a revival of Godspell and in 2016, he starred in the original musical Holiday Inn. Bleu returned to the stage in 2019 in a revival of Kiss Me, Kate.
In December 2021, he and fellow HSM alum Monique Coleman co-starred in the Lifetime movie A Christmas Dance Reunion. Two years later, Bleu appeared on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
Personal Life: In 2016, he married Sasha Clements, star of the Disney Channel movie How to Build a Better Boy.
Monique Coleman (Taylor McKessie)
Professional Life: Monique Coleman went on to star on the sitcom Here We Go Again and the comedy movie We Are Family. In 2018, her online talk show Gimme Mo transitioned to TV for a brief run on Discovery Life. In December 2021, she and fellow HSM alum Corbin Bleu reunited for the Lifetime movie A Christmas Dance Reunion. The actress also made an appearance on the final season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
Personal Life: Though she married Walter Jordan in 2012, they ultimately divorced in 2022.
Bart Johnson (Coach Jack Bolton)
Professional Life: Bart Johnson has appeared on shows such as The Client List and NCIS: Los Angeles and the Amazon series Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street. He also acted in a 2018 film adaptation of Little Women. Since then, the actor has continued to make appearances on shows like On Call, Yellowstone, Landman and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
For a while, Johnson operated the Johnson Mill Bed & Breakfast near Park City, Utah.
Personal Life: He has been married to Robyn Lively, Blake Lively‘s sister, since 1999. They share three children.
Chris Warren Jr. (Zeke Baylor)
Professional Life: Chris Warren Jr. starred on shows such as Good Luck Charlie, The Hard Times of RJ Berger and The Fosters. In 2019, he appeared in ABC’s short-lived drama Grand Hotel. And since 2020, the actor has been a cast member on the series Sistas.
Personal Life: In 2019, Warren married British TV host and actress Layla Kayleigh.
Alyson Reed (Ms. Darbus)
Professional Life: Already an establishedactress when HSM debuted, Alyson Reed later went on to star on shows like Desperate Housewives, Bones, Modern Family, Silicon Valley and the Hulu series Chance.
Personal Life: The accomplished stage star paid a visit to the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series set in 2019. “I love the show!” she explained. “It’s so great, so clever, so creative, and there’s such heart, and it’s just terrific.”
Olesya Rulin (Kelsi Nielsen)
Professional Life: Olesya Rulin went on to star on shows such as Greek and the PlayStation Network’s Powers. The actress was also featured on NCIS: Los Angeles, SEAL Team and more.
Personal Life: Rulin married entrepreneur Joseph Noel Pauline in 2021. The following year, they announced they had welcomed a baby girl, Ondine Michelle Pauline, together.
KayCee Stroh (Martha Cox)
Professional Life: Post-HSM, KayCee Stroh starred in The League, Shapetown, USA and Andi Mack. She also made an appearance on a 2019 episode of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series as well as 2020’s The Disney Family Singalong.
Personal Life: In 2009, she married Ben Higginson. The couple have since welcomed two daughters, Zetta Lee and Lettie Louise.
