Zac Efron

Name at birth: Zachary Efron

Zac Efron played the hunky brown-haired boyfriend Cameron Bale on the TV family drama Summerland. Efron grew up in Southern California and began acting in his early teens, making his way into guest-starring roles on the TV shows E.R. and Firefly. He played an autistic twin in the made-for-cable movie Miracle Run (2004, with Aidan Quinn) and starred as a reluctant jockey in the formulaic racehorce flick The Derby Stallion in 2005. The same year he joined the cast of Summerland, where his blue eyes and tousled hair made him an instant hit with young female fans. He took another heartfelt teen role in the 2006 Disney cable movie High School Musical (with Vanessa Anne Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale); the movie was a surprise hit and Efron starred in the 2007 sequel, High School Musical 2. He also played the role of Link Larkin in the 2007 remake of John Waters's Hairspray (starring John Travolta and Amanda Bynes.