Get ready, Zac, because we’re taking it waaay back.
After becoming a pop culture sensation thanks to his turn as Troy Bolton in High School Musical, 17 Again was the first real test of Zac Efron‘s leading man potential on the big screen when it opened in theaters on April 14, 2009. Spoiler alert: It was a hit, debuting at No. 1 at the box office before going on to make almost $140 million, officially cementing Efron’s star power, no Wildcats jersey necessary.
In the comedy, Efron plays the younger version of Matthew Perry‘s Mike O’Donnell, whose life is falling apart at the age of 37. When he makes a wish to go back to high school in an attempt to relive his glory days, the Friends star transforms into the Hairspray hunk. Shenanigans, laughs and life lessons ensue.
Revisiting this underrated gem sparked a friendly yet fierce debate in the E! News offices: Does Efron give his best performance ever in 17 Again? The takes were hotter than the man himself without his shirt on, which, you know, we’ve featured many times on our Instagram account. And so, we decided to do what any sane person with a 401K would do: We ranked all of his feature film outings.
