Photo: EW
Zac Efron may have been in the best shape of his life while filming Baywatch in 2017; however, the High School Musical alum said it’s not as slick as you might expect.
The actor reflected on his vigorous body transformation for the film – which showcased his washboard abs and his massive muscles – and how his strict diet and exercise routine is affecting his mental and physical health.
“I started to develop insomnia and fell into a pretty bad depression for a long time,” Efron revealed in an interview with Men’s Health. “Something about that experience burned me out. I had a really hard time recentering.”
Efron went on to say that his Baywatch physique was “unattainable” in real life.
“There’s just too little water in the skin. Like, it’s fake; it looks CGI’d,” he elaborated. “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.”
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Efron Doesn’t Recommend the Baywatch Bod
This isn’t the first time Efron has shown he’s not interested in returning to his former physique anytime soon. In an episode of Hot Ones in 2020, Efron said he didn’t “ever want to be in that good shape again” after completing the movie, featuring Dwayne Johnson and Alexandra Daddario.
“Really, it’s like, it was so hard. You’re working with no wiggle-room. You’ve got water under your skin which you’re worrying about making your six-pack into a four-pack,” he revealed to host Sean Evans.
“It’s just stupid. It’s not real. I’m happy that it worked and that it got me through it. I may do it again if it was something worthwhile, but I would wait until it gets to that.”
Previously, Efron has given a word of caution to those who are interested in diving into the deep and risky waters of unattainable fitness standards.
“That’s too big. For guys, that’s unrealistic,” he told The Ellen Show in 2019. “I got very big and buff for that movie, but I don’t want people to think that’s the best way to be. Like, be your size… I don’t want to glamorize this.”
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