Zac Efron’s life away from acting after he stepped away from Hollywood
Zac Efron is one of the biggest names for Gen Z - from being a first crush for many as Troy in High School Musical to his iconic role as Link Larkin in Hairspray, there’s no doubt that he’s well and truly cemented in our childhoods.
However, you may have noticed in recent times that Efron has taken a slight step back from the spotlight and is instead enjoying a different kind of vibe.
While he is still starring in movies, the actor appears to have moved his personal life as far away from Hollywood as possible.
As he celebrates his 39th birthday on Sunday (18 October), we’ve taken a look into what life is like for the A-List actor now - and it sounds lush.
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The American actor has packed his bags and moved to an Australian coastal town to build his dream, eco-conscious home.
As per the outlet, Efron first relocated to Byron Bay during the pandemic in early 2020, before buying a 128-hectare property and flogging his Los Angeles abode.
The Greatest Showman star is currently working on an eco-conscious property, which he's named ‘FutureCave,’ with Dutch-Australian designer Joost Bakker.
Opening up on why he chose Bakker for the job in an interview with the Australian Financial Review last December, Efron explained: “I’ve lived just about everywhere you can for several months or even years at this point, and I think if I had to look back at my whole life and think where do I ultimately want to end up, every time I go to Joost’s I have a sense of ‘this is actually what I want in life.”
He added: “It just seems right. Like, that’s the way it should be done.”
The star continued: “Russell Crowe told me it’s a good idea to get land in Australia; he did it when he was young, and it was one of the things he told me he is extremely proud of that decision.
“It set him up really well for the future, and it’s a piece of advice, and I followed it. I love Australia, it’s cool.”
Efron has previously been candid about his struggles with anxiety, burnout, and substance abuse during his Hollywood career.
During his 2020 Netflix travel series, Down to Earth with Zac Efron, the actor admitted: “I gotta get out of Hollywood, I’m done. It’s not a place conducive to living a long, happy, mentally sound life."
According to the AFR, Efron’s new home is in a hamlet called Tomewin, which is near the New South Wales and Queensland border, about an hour’s drive from Byron Bay.
There, Efron has bagged himself a 128-hectare lot, costing $2 million.
The block’s former owners were a German logging family, and the land boasts waterfalls, rainforest and 500-year-old cedar trees. A far cry from LA then!
The so-called ‘FutureCave’ will comprise six bedroom pods connected by an outdoor walkway to house his extended family, such as his parents and siblings, with each pod coming with a bathroom and rooftop garden.
In a 2022 Men’s Health interview, Efron revealed that he goes back to LA in ‘small doses’ but for a while was ‘in a van trying to travel and see as much of the world as I can, or just hiking in the woods and camping’.
And last November, Bakker wrote on Instagram: “It’s not everyday of the week that @zacefron asks you to design his home, I am beyond excited! Especially as it will be the first home he has ever owned!
“Zac fell in love with @futurefoodsystem and then our family home in Monbulk and now wants a home of his own + best of all he wants me to push my ideas as far as they can go!
“So here we are - designing and building Zac’s home. Its a dream come true. Every element is pushing my team creatively, and I love nothing more than testing so many ideas.”
It's been a while since there's been an update, but we can't wait to see the finished dream home!
Topics: Zac Efron, Australia, Entertainment, Celebrity, TV And Film, Environment
Madison Burgess