<Tr> <Th> Years active </Th> <Td> 2002--present </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> www.zacefron.com </Td> </Tr> <P> Zachary David Alexander Efron (/ ˈɛfrɒn /; born October 18, 1987) is an American actor and singer . He began acting professionally in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence in the late 2000s for his leading role in the High School Musical franchise (2006--2008). During this time, he also starred in the musical film Hairspray (2007) and the comedy film 17 Again (2009). He has since appeared in films like New Year's Eve (2011), The Lucky One (2012), Neighbors (2014), Dirty Grandpa (2016), Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016), and The Greatest Showman (2017). </P> <P> Efron was born in San Luis Obispo, California, and later moved to Arroyo Grande, California . His father, David Efron, is an electrical engineer at a power station, and his mother, Starla Baskett, is a secretary who worked at the same power plant . Efron has a brother, Dylan, and had, as he has described, a "normal childhood" in a middle - class family . His surname, "Efron" (אפרון), is an Ashkenazi Jewish surname, taken from a Biblical place name . Zac has described himself as Jewish; though he was raised in an agnostic household and did not practice religion as a child . </P>

When did the first highschool musical come out