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Zendaya is the entire package: a talented actress, singer and—with her statuesque figure— she’s among a collection of tall female celebrities that should consider adding the title “model” to their resumes. And Zac Efron— need we say more? Even if the High School Musical alum suffered a horrific accident that shattered his jaw, he still drops jaws as one of the most attractive male celebrities to date.
While filming The Greatest Showman together, Zendaya and Zac shared an on-screen kiss that had fans reeling. But what made fans even more invested was their respective accounts of said kiss. So, what did they say? Was it magical? Was it awkward or just plain bad? Here’s what both Zendaya and Zac Efron said about their iconic on-screen kiss in The Greatest Showman.
How Zendaya And Zac Efron Felt About Working Together On The Greatest Showman
Actors act— it’s what they do. But their jobs can be slightly more stressful when—off-screen— there’s no chemistry between them. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case for the Zendaya and Zac whose natural connection gifted viewers with a remarkable on-screen romance and standout duet song “Rewrite The Stars”. The actors, who portrayed ringmaster Philipp and trapeze artist Anne in the film, sought to make the connection between their characters special and the catalyst behind the success of their onscreen success was a mutual love and admiration for Michael Jackson.
“He was a huge impact on both of ur lives, and we could relate over that. I think that his message of love…and finding yourself…we connected and bonded over that. I don’t know, maybe somehow he worked his magic through us,” Efron told HelloGiggles.
Zendaya made it known that, for the role of Anne, she had to work out to develop enough upper body strength to perform her trapeze stunts with Efron. The Euphoria actress shared that Efron subjected himself to some blows in order to effectively “sell” their athletic scenes together.
As she admitted to British Vogue in a video interview, “I had to work out every day so I could at least have enough upper body strength to hold myself up.” She added that Efron “was a great partner because we body-slammed into each other. We were trying to hold onto each other. But he was always there, always super supportive.”
Efron, himself, was blown away by Zendaya’s ability with doing her own stunts for the film. “The first time I walked in, it was her doing it.” he said in an interview with Glamour Magazine UK. “I couldn’t believe it. I thought it ws a professional something…and then it was her. I was like ‘What the heck, are you kidding me?'”
How Did Zac Efron Feel About His Kiss With Zendaya On The Greatest Showman?
Zac Efron is no stranger to on-screen kisses, having locked lips with many actresses in the films he’s worked on. The actor’s past on-screen kisses have included former longtime girlfriend, Vanessa Hudgens, on Disney’s High School Musical trilogy. He also kissed Michelle Pfeiffer in 2011’s New Year’s Eve, Nikki Blonsky in Hairspray, Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy and Taylor Schilling in The Lucky One.
While doing press for The Greatest Showman the actor was asked if he had placed a requirement to kiss his costars in his contracts. The actor shrugged off the question saying, “I’m pretty lucky … I’m in no contractual obligation to kiss anyone, I just get to kiss a lot of cool people.”
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When asked what it felt like experiencing Efron’s kissing “expertise” after kissing so many people the actress shrugged off the question and clarified saying, “When you’re into a character, the whole time, they’re not allowed to as much as touch, talk, speak, have a moment between each other; so every moment, even if they’re just touching, is incredibly special. It’s not just another kiss. It’s different. We try to take ourselves out of it and become these two characters, and that’s their moment.”
When it came to Efron’s feelings about kissing Zendaya, the actor says that his kiss with the gorgeous actress was his favorite on-screen kiss.
“This might be my favorite kiss, I think ever.” he said. “Just because at this point for these characters, it’s so built up, the tension between them is so strong, and literally, just a glance between them is electric.”
“And when they finally have the courage in that moment to finally connect and get that kiss, it’s that epic musical moment,” he said.
Why Did Zendaya Describe Kissing Zac Efron As Dangerous?
Zac Efron’s top-tier commentary about his on-screen kiss with Zendaya left big shoes for the actress to fill. If you were wondering what it’s really like to kiss Zac Efron— the Euphoria star described it as “dangerous”. But in this scenario, context is important. “It’s not a normal kiss,” the actress told Yahoo Australia at the film’s Sydney premiere back in 2017. “This kiss is very special not just because it’s two actors kissing.”
Apparently, the lip-lock between their characters Anne, a trapeze artist, and Phillip, an associate of P.T. Barnum, is integral to the plot and their storyline. “These two characters have gone through so much and this kiss symbolizes a lot more than just kissing someone,” she continued.
“In the context of the movie, it’s very brave and honestly dangerous,” she said. “There’s something special about it in that way.”
Zendaya proceeded emphasize that the danger behind their character’s iconic kiss was also associated with the issues of race that are captured in the film. “A big part of my character’s storyline, the reason that she is an oddity, is that she and her brother are black. That is what makes them different,” Zendaya told InStyle
“It all gets halted when she starts falling for someone who’s white,” she said. “I’m biracial, so there are so many [shared] experiences there. I think it’s a cool side storyline. It’s something that you get invested in.”
