Zac Efron has opened up about his anxiety disorder.
The Hollywood star admitted that he suffers from agoraphobia.
Keep scrolling to find out more…
Now, Zac Efron has been on our screens for over a decade…
And the Californian-born actor first came into our lives in 2006 as the fresh-faced, sparkly-eyed teen, Troy Bolton.
He was the ultimate teenage heartthrob…
And young girls all over the world instantly became obsessed.
And, after his success in High School Musical…
Efron went on to play a number of other roles of a similar nature, including another teen heartthrob, Link Larkin in the remake of the 1988 musical, Hairspray.
This further thrust him into the spotlight.
However, Efron later dropped his younger, more adolescent Disney image, and began taking on more mature roles.
The boy we once knew was gone.
And there was now a young man stood in his place — destined to become recognized for his great acting.
He totally redesigned his image, starring in movies such as Baywatch and The Greatest Showman.
As well as crude comedies such as Dirty Grandpa and Bad Neighbours.
And in more recent times…
The actor ventured into much darker territory with his portrayal of the notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile told the story of the demented killer…
And depicted the journey of Ted and his girlfriend, Liz, as he is captured and accused of his many murders.
Efron did the seemingly impossible and managed to make thousands of women suddenly become attracted to a serial killer… If that isn’t a skill, we don’t know what is!
And people were going that crazy over the new, and “hot,” Ted Bundy…
That Netflix had to step in to gently remind everyone that Ted Bundy was, in fact, a demented serial killer and r*pist and that there were plenty of other “hot” actors to drool over on their streaming service.
At the time they tweeted: “I’ve seen a lot of talk about Ted Bundy’s alleged hotness and would like to gently remind everyone that there are literally THOUSANDS of hot men on the service — almost all of whom are not convicted serial murderers.”
Efron did a superb job taking on such a serious role and he is now recognized as a very talented and diverse actor.
But one of his past TV appearances hasn’t sat well with his fans…
And it’s all over his “strange” appearance.
The actor surprised the internet during a Facebook Watch appearance for Bill Nye’s Earth Day Musical last April.
And people were left utterly baffled over what’s happened to Efron’s face.
One fan wrote: “Zac Efron was beautiful, why’d he do that to his face?”
While another said: “keep Zac Efron’s face off my timeline pls.”
Bit harsh.
His ‘new face’ got the internet going wild…
And many have been speculating that Zac has undergone plastic surgery or cosmetic enhancements — especially on his cheeks and jawline.
Shortly after the social media breakdown, an expert weighed in on the situation.
Dermatologist Dr. Muneeb Shah told Insider it’s hard to say exactly what procedures the actor has had done… if any.
“It does appear that his jaw, chin, and lips are more prominent,” he explained, “A few things can give this appearance: implants, dermal filler, or even the results of steroid / HGH use. Some people even speculate that he had dental surgery, which I think is much less likely.”
Dr. Anthony Young, a plastic surgeon, then suggested that Efron may have gotten his wisdom teeth removed, which can cause swelling of the jaw and cheeks.
“I actually think he’s had dental surgery, not plastic surgery and that’s why he’s swollen in these areas,” Young said in a TikTok video.
Dr. Muneeb told Insider while it can be fun to speculate, people should be careful before jumping to conclusions about a celebrity’s personal life, especially their health.
“Either way, if [Zac] did have work done, it just goes to show that all of us, regardless of how we are perceived by the public, have things that we may want to improve or change.”
But now, over a year after speculation began, Efron has addressed the ‘jaw-gate’ rumors regarding his face.
He opened up in an interview with Men’s Health, explaining that he had actually broken his jaw back in November 2013 and that the swelling was down to his masseter muscles in his face working extra hard.
He also shared that at the time his mom updated him on the publicity his new appearance got online.
“If I valued what other people thought of me to the extent that they may think I do,” Efron said, “I definitely wouldn’t be able to do this work.”
He tends to steer clear of social media to protect his own mental health.
So there you have it, you shouldn’t believe everything you read on social media.
Speaking of mental health, Efron also admitted that he suffers from a disorder known as agoraphobia.
Agoraphobia is the fear of places or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless, or embarrassed.
Speaking about his disorder, Efron said: “I just don’t go out. People in large groups… It triggers my agoraphobia.”
He opened up about his experience in filming the 2017 movie Baywatch, where he struggled to attain his physique.
“There’s just too little water in the skin. Like, it’s fake; it looks CGI’d.
“And that required Lasix, powerful diuretics, to achieve. So I don’t need to do that. I much prefer to have an extra, you know, 2 to 3 percent body fat,” said Efron.
His experience with dieting and training hard for the movie also resulted in him facing mental health issues.
“Something about that experience burned me out. I had a really hard time recentering.
“Ultimately, they chalked it up to taking way too many diuretics for way too long, and it messed something up,” he said.
What do you think about his comments?