Kenny Ortega Defends Zac Efron Against ‘High School Musical’ Fan Rumors

The “High School Musical” movies were a part of their formative years for many Disney fans. Zac Efron was one of the stars of the film, and today, many still remember him fondly as Troy Bolton. However, rumors of his lip-syncing for the role have followed him around, and now Kenny Ortega, the director of the films, is coming to Zac’s defense. 

The first “High School Musical” movie premiered on the Disney Channel in 2006. From there, they released two other main films. There was also a 2016 version to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the franchise. 

Zac Efron Did Sing in the ‘High School Musical’ Films, According to Kenny Ortega

According to E! News, Kenny Ortega recently sat down for an interview to discuss the “High School Musical” movies as well as some of his other films. During the conversation, the topic of Drew Seeley singing for Troy Bolton instead of Zac Efron came up. Kenny clarified and said that Zac did sing despite Drew also being on the songs. 

Kenny Ortega said, “He sang in the first show. The songs were written before Zac got the role. So, although he could sing and he had a lovely voice, it wasn’t the voice that the songs were written for. So, he sang everything and then we dubbed parts of it so that it had greater vocal strength.”

Kenny went on to say that the songs in the second two “High School Musical” movies were written for Zac Efron’s range. He stated, “But the second and third movie, everything was written for him. And that’s important that people know that Zac Efron did sing.”

Regarding the rumors, it has long been stated online that Zac Efron didn’t sing at all in the movies. It’s for this reason that Kenny Ortega’s speaking out and saying that this is untrue is essential for the legacy of the films. 

Drew Seeley Auditioned for the Role of Troy Bolton

Zac Efron is one of the first actors people think of when discussing “High School Musical.” However, Drew Seeley also auditioned for the iconic role of Troy Bolton. He spoke about this in an interview with E! News.

When asked if he has any sort of report with Zac Efron, he said, “I’ve met Zac a few times at parties and whatnot. But I spent, by far, the least amount of time with Zac compared to any other cast member in High School Musical because I was really only brought in when he was unavailable or not around.”

Regarding why he wasn’t picked for the film, Drew Seeley admitted, “I was a good five, six years older than Vanessa. So in my mind, that had something to do with it. I probably didn’t look right with the lineup of everybody else. And also, Zac is a very talented actor and was great in the role. So, I think they did it right.”