Zac Efron Paid Tribute to Matthew Perry in Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony
He credited him with helping steer his career.
Zac Efron has just been honored with his very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he's so grateful to everyone who helped him get there—including his one-time costar Matthew Perry.
In his acceptance speech during the ceremony on Dec. 11, Efron thanked a lot of people profusely, crediting them with different parts of his success as an actor.
"I've been acting and singing and dancing for as long as I can remember, since I was a little boy, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd be standing here today in front of such dear friends, colleagues throughout the years, and lifelong fans who have been with me since day one," he said. "I love you guys so much. This is just insane."
He continued, "But standing here today, I realize how unbelievably lucky I am that, over the course of 20 years, I've been blessed with truly the most talented, the most creative and the most kind of people."
He went on to thank the people who had come to support him, including his friends and colleagues Miles Teller, Jeremy Allen-White, and Sean Durkin, and thanked the people who helped him get his break on High School Musical back in the day.
"I still think about it every day, I sing the songs in the shower," Efron revealed to cheers and laughs. "And, yeah, go Wildcats!"
On a more somber note, Efron went on to shout out Perry, with whom he starred in 17 Again, and who tragically died in late October of this year.
"I also really want to mention someone that's not here today, and that's Matthew Perry, who was so kind and generous with me when we worked on 17 Again," Efron said. "Collaborating with him and [director] Burr Steers was—it was so much fun, and it really did propel me and motivate me in so many ways. It really pushed me into the next chapter of my career. For that, thank you so much, Matthew. Thinking about you a lot today."
During a red carpet interview in November, Efron was asked whether he would consider playing Perry in a potential biopic of the Friends star, after it came out that the Baywatch actor was Perry's pick to play him.
"I was hugely honored. It would be extraordinary to do," Efron replied at the time.
He added, "I’m still devastated by the fact that he is gone... We'll see what happens. I'll keep you posted with any news."
