The Graduate: Zac Efron's GQ Photo Shoot

Wonderwall, Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 5:26pm (PDT)

Thanks to Disney and the "High School Musical" movies, Zac Efron is firmly entrenched in the fantasies of a generation of tweenyboppers. With two major films on the line, the young actor is now trying to prove he's more than just another pretty boy face. We're not sure that looking gorgeous on the cover of GQ's May issue will help, but we wish him the best in all his "post-grad" endeavors. The magazine hits newsstands on April 21.

Click through to see photos (by Peggy Sirota) from the cover shoot, and read the full story here. We've also rounded up a few interesting quotes from the interview below. Check it out:

ON HIS CAREER:

"A guy I worked with recently told me, 'You have to earn the right to hold a gun.' And that completely made sense. Can you imagine me running around with a gun in a film? I noticed the second I started that the things you want to be involved with are always just out of reach. Most parts you'd want, people won't really consider you for, because you have to earn that respect. The things people do want you for are usually not things you want to do. At one point, somebody said to me, 'What do you wanna do? A cool crime drama? Do you wanna shoot up heroin? We'll do anything you wanna do ... the Musical."

ON HIS PARENTS:

"They completely believed that there was a one-in-a-billion chance I would ever be successful. And that was ingrained in the back of my head: I will fail. I'm going to fail. They managed my expectations. I was always prepared to fail. So it was kind of confusing when things started to work out."

See the rest of Zac Efron's GQ Photo Shoot

ON GROOMING:

"When I was a kid ... I dyed my hair silver, to look like SisQó in the 'Thong Song' video."

ON DRINKING:

"I wasn't programmed by Disney ... it's common sense. If you're gonna be drunk with your friends, don't get wasted at the Chateau Marmont and hook up with some famous chick. It's not rocket science."

ON MARRIAGE:

"That was such bullsh*t ... I'm definitely not getting married. In this business, you're either getting married or they want you to be pregnant. I'm not getting married until I'm 40. If ever. The thought never crossed my mind ... Maybe not 40. Maybe not until I'm 30."

Nice save, Zac. We're sure Vanessa Hudgens feels a lot better now!

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