Why did you choose Zac Efron for the part?  
Well, he sort of chose me, too. He liked the script and I hadn’t seen High School Musical. But I went and met with him and I just thought Zac was great. He just seemed to fit that character perfectly. I thought Zac had enough charisma, stage presence and strength of character.

What was it like to work with him?
I think I’ll be grateful that I worked with Zac early in his career because I do think he’s going to have a long career and it was an interesting time for him because of some of the previous films he’s done. He’s really well known so there was this extra layer of excitement about him. He really is a good guy. He is very smart and he works really hard. And he’s really gifted. He’s a guy who’s found his niche – he realised he had a real knack for singing, dancing and performing.

FILMCLUB Recommends…

…School of Rock. The heartwarming and fun musical comedy starring Jack Black is one of Richard Linklater’s earlier films. It’s very different from the period drama Me and Orson Welles, showing that directors can make lots of different types of film.

Films are great to watch with friends – to set up a FILMCLUB in your school, ask your teacher to visit www.filmclub.org and click on WANT TO SET UP A FILMCLUB?