Zak Efron & Cast Interview, 17 Again

What would you do if you got a second shot at life? Class of 1989, Mike O'Donnell (Zac Efron) is a star on the high school basketball court with a college scout in the stands and a bright future in his grasp. But instead, he decides to throw it all away to share his life with his girlfriend Scarlet and the baby he just learned they are expecting.

Almost 20 years later, Mike's (Matthew Perry) glory days are decidedly behind him. His marriage to Scarlet (Leslie Mann) has fallen apart, he has been passed over for a promotion at work, his teenage kids think he is a loser, and he has been reduced to crashing with his high school nerd-turned-techno-billionaire best friend Ned (Thomas Lennon).

But Mike is given another chance when he is miraculously transformed back to the age of 17. Unfortunately, Mike may look 17 again, but his thirtysomething outlook is totally uncool among the class of 2009.

And in trying to recapture his best years, Mike could lose the best things that ever happened to him.

MoviesOnline sat down with Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Matthew Perry, Thomas Lennon, and Michelle Trachtenberg at the Los Angeles press day for “17 Again,” directed by Burr Steers from a screenplay by Jason Filardi and produced by Adam Shankman and Jennifer Gibgot. Here’s what they had to tell us:

Q: Zac, you did a great job being Matthew.

ZAC EFRON: Thank you. It was hard work.

Q: Before you started shooting, I know you talked a lot about the role and doing similar things. Can you talk a little more about that and who shot first? Were you able to watch film on each other?

ZAC EFRON: Who did shoot first? We went back and forth. I think it was all mixed up. Matthew shot a couple days and I’d come in and shoot. I was able to see a couple of scenes that Matt had done for sure, but I know that most of the work we did on figuring out the character was just done in rehearsals. We had a couple days where we were able to just hang out and talk and figure out the key moments so that really it was Matthew’s line that I was just kind of saying.

Q: Matthew, could you talk about working with Zac and how you got him to be you?

Matthew Perry: I finally realized like on day 5 why Zac was looking at me so much. [laughter] But yes, Burr Steers, who directed the movie, is a very smart guy. He thought it was a good idea for us to rehearse together and read each other’s lines for each other. So, that was a big part of the rehearsal process. And he would say, “How would you say this?” And I would say, “How would you say this?” It ended up being kind of a cool part of the movie, I think.

Q: Matthew, what period of time, if any, would you want to go back to or would you rather go ahead to the future? What are your thoughts about that?

MATTHEW PERRY: I’d like to go back to like 9:15 this morning so I could have had maybe two more cups of coffee and rethink my first answer. [laughter]

Q: Would being 17 appeal to you?

MATTHEW PERRY: I would love to be 17 if I looked like this dude (referring to Zac). That’d be great. [laughter]

Q: We saw your picture in the end credits. You looked pretty good at 17.

MATTHEW PERRY: I looked okay but you know… [turns to look at Zac]

ZAC EFRON: I’m 21, dude. [laughs]

MATTHEW PERRY: Yeah, I know. [laughter] And you really look it now, man.

Q: Zac, this seems to be a perfect kind of transition from doing something like High School Musical to doing an acting thing where you get to do both and still play basketball. Did you see the movie that way? Also, I think Melora Hardin was quoted in Crave magazine today as saying you’re having a difficult time with stardom and I wondered if that means you’re going through some kind of existential angst [laughter] about what your purpose here is and dropping out of Footloose?

ZAC EFRON: Oh man, wow! Oh gosh! Thanks, Melora! No, you know what, I keep… Honestly, I’m not really having a tough time. I keep saying… You know, the number one question I’ve been asked for this movie is, “If you could go back, would you change anything? If you could be 17 all over again, what would you do different? Would you go down this road?” I’m like, absolutely. This is like the best job in the world. I’m having the time of my life. I wake up every day with a new challenge whether it’s filming, learning a new skill set, interviews, press, that kind of stuff. It’s always fun. It’s always interesting. It’s always a challenge. I’m very happy with that and I’m very happy with my life right now.

The first part of your question about the movie and doing 17 Again, it was exactly what I was looking for. This is an opportunity to work with a brilliant cast and an amazing director and yeah, it was that chance to switch it up. It does take place in high school, in a high school setting, but it’s not a very high school character and that’s what I want to do more of.

Q: And the Footloose thing…?

THOMAS LENNON: I’m doing that now. [laughter]

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: He doesn’t even need prosthetics. It’s going to be awesome.

ZAC EFRON: I was just looking for a change.

Q: Do you know what you’re doing next?

ZAC EFRON: I’m putting something together with Burr. It’s early in development, but it’s called The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud.

MATTHEW PERRY: But it’s still about a town that refuses to dance. [laughter]

Q: Zac and Matthew, what was your nerdy period of life? Did you have a time when you were maybe 10 or 12? What was your nerdiest time and what was that like? Or did you just never have that?

ZAC EFRON: I was great. I was pretty cool until about freshman year of high school and then it was downhill until I was about 17 and then something happened and it all came back. But that was pretty much the time that I was just average. I worked hard in school, got good grades. I was not that cool, so to speak. I mean, I thought I was cool.

Q: Did you ever get taped to a toilet or did anything weird happen to you?

ZAC EFRON: No, I wasn’t bulled that bad or anything like that. I just wasn’t the ‘it’ guy at school.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: And look at him now. [laughter]

Q: What about you, Matthew?

MATTHEW PERRY: I was the ‘it’ guy in school.

Q: You were?

MATTHEW PERRY: No, I went to a high school that didn’t have many people in it. There were like 60 people in my senior class but I still was not the cool [guy]. There was like a group of cool kids and then a group of really dorky kids and I was probably the coolest of the dorky kids.

ZAC EFRON: I’m stealing that answer, bro’.

MATTHEW PERRY: Take it, buddy!

ZAC EFRON: That’s great!

MATTHEW PERRY: Take it!

Q: Zac, I was wondering if you could talk about what it was like defending yourself against a light saber wielding sci-fi techno-geek? [laughter]

ZAC EFRON: That was serious.

THOMAS LENNON: That was good. We rehearsed that scene for about a month every single day in the parking lot of an Arby’s in Hollywood with sticks. Zack really, really hurt me pretty badly one day on the shoot nailing me in the head. I think it was just a warning, just a reminder.

ZAC EFRON: Yes, the day I did hit Tom, there were a couple injuries, but I hit Tom pretty hard one day and I just thank God it was during rehearsals with the rehearsal light sabers because if we had been filming a real take, we’d use real light sabers. I’m pretty sure he would have had less face right now.

THOMAS LENNON: I wasn’t that bright to begin with before that injury. Insurance says I can’t do anything about it.

Q: Did Zac knock some sense into you?

THOMAS LENNON: Did he do what?

Q: Knock some sense into you?

THOMAS LENNON: What? [laughter]

MATTHEW PERRY: He doesn’t understand the question. [laughter]

Q: What did you get in trouble for most in high school? Was there anything that you should have gotten busted for but you got away with?

ZAC EFRON: Yeah, I looked at a couple papers taking tests and stuff like that. It was small things. I got in trouble once. I actually got sent home from high school because I went up to the front of my Spanish class, in Spanish 3, and I was going to write a sentence on the board and my pants fell down in front of the class. Everyone started laughing. It wasn’t that big of a deal but the teacher got really flustered and upset and sent me home. And that was probably the most I got in trouble.

Q: How did that happen accidentally? [laughter]

THOMAS LENNON: That is an excellent question. [to Zac] More details, sir.

ZAC EFRON: I don’t know.

Q: Was there a wardrobe malfunction?

ZAC EFRON: I guess you could call it that.

Q: Zac and Tom, there is so much physical comedy in this movie, how was it trying to contain yourself? Were there particular scenes where you just kind of lost it and had to do them over and over? Was there anything like that?

THOMAS LENNON: Pretty much every single scene either you cracked me up or… well mostly you cracked me up, I suppose. I think you can tell there were a lot of interesting things in between the lines that is either Zack trying to crack me up and me trying to crack him up, like him referring to me as looking like Clay Aiken which I was not expecting at all.

ZAC EFRON: Yeah, that was the fun thing with Tom, is we didn’t necessarily have to stick to what was written. We tried to, but it was virtually impossible with Tom.

Q: Zac, what experience did you draw upon to play a character who is a father since you’re not a father? For example, the scene with you as the parent in the classroom that was so emotional. How did you incorporate that feeling into your character? And Tom, how did you prepare for speaking Elvish?

THOMAS LENNON: Do you want to go first?

ZAC EFRON: Yeah, sure. I thought about the way that my dad tried to have those talks with me and my little brother and he was always very passionate and energetic and he delivered it like a champ. Really. He was just really excited, I think. [laughs] So that’s what came out during that particular scene in the movie.

THOMAS LENNON: The Elvish is actually an ancient form of Irish because Elvish is a registered trademark of the Tolkien family and you can’t use it.

Q: It’s actually Finnish.

THOMAS LENNON: Yeah. So what we’re speaking is an ancient form of Gaelic or Irish. And the way I prepared is I had it on an iPod. I listened to it day and night for weeks leading up to the scene and then I got there and Melora Hardin hadn’t worked on it at all. So, she had hers written on the plate in front of her.

MATTHEW PERRY: She was just thinking about how difficult fame is for Zac. [laughter]

Q: So I guess that makes you an Elvish impersonator?

THOMAS LENNON: Nice. Oh from way downtown. [laughter]

Q: Leslie, I think this is an interesting turning point for you. You’re a mom so it’s not a stretch to play a mom, but is it something that you have to get your head around and say okay, now I’m viewed as the mother of a teenager?

LESLIE MANN: I know, I think that was a huge mistake. [laughter] I do because she’s like 24. Right? There’s no way that she could... [to Michele] She played 17?

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: No.

LESLIE MANN: 15?

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: Yeah.

LESLIE MANN: How old did you play? 18?

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: 16. I don’t know. That’s a Burr Steers question. It changes every day.

LESLIE MANN: Yeah, I think it was a huge mistake because I can never go back. [laughs]

Q: That’s why I was wondering whether it’s a turning point in your career?

LESLIE MANN: I guess so. I mean, the smart ones are like … There’s a TV show on right now, I don’t know what it’s called, like First Time Mothers.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: In the Motherhood?

LESLIE MANN: Yeah, and they’re like 50 years old which would be like a medical miracle. Right? There’s no way. I mean, that’s like impossible. So, they were the smart ones because they could play the young girl for much longer and I was dumb.

THOMAS LENNON: What are you talking about?

LESLIE MANN: And now really dumb because they’re like way too old. Now I have to always have a bit older character.

Q: For anybody in the cast, it opens up 1989 and your character is pregnant and then it says ‘today’ which by my math is 20 years later, which means Michelle, you’re a 20-year-old high school student.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: Yeah, and I’m a freshman.

MATTHEW PERRY: That’s the logic problem you have with this film? [laughter]

THOMAS LENNON: They can do this in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: I’ve been held back a few years in high school.

THOMAS LENNON: We wouldn’t have made the movie if they couldn’t do it.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: You know what’s so great is that with Leslie in particular, when Leslie and me had signed on I was like “That’s awesome! Isn’t she like 25? That’s weird.” [laughter] She’s amazing and extraordinary and I love you, mom.

LESLIE MANN: I love you too, baby. Tell them what you said to Matthew all day long. He’s probably used to dating girls Michelle’s age.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: [laughs] He checks ladies. They’re all over 18.

MATTHEW PERRY: I just date 50-year-old pregnant women.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: I would call Matthew “Dad” a lot.

MATTHEW PERRY: Not “Dad,” Daddy!

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: Daddy. But I called Zac Daddy, too. I have a lot of daddies. Daddy issues! That’s all I’m saying.

MATTHEW PERRY: It made for a very interesting…

Q: I read where you did let those ladies actually slap you. Was that true?

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: I slapped him. That was off camera.

ZAC EFRON: It was amazing watching everybody have so much fun that night. No, it was funny, it started slow and Tom was very nice about it. He was like, “There’s no way to fake a slap. We’re just going to have to go for it. And he did. He knew how to do it.

THOMAS LENNON: I wasn’t going to tell you that at the time because it’s not funny.

ZAC EFRON: [laughs] Yeah, exactly.

THOMAS LENNON: The funny version is the one where you really get slapped.

LESLIE MANN: The one I did. I slapped you really hard. Right?

THOMAS LENNON: You actually did.

ZAC EFRON: [laughs] It was more like a closed fist kind of clubbing kind of a ‘kook’.

Q: Does everybody hit everybody in this movie?

ZAC EFRON: Yeah. At one point or another.

LESLIE MANN: Usually the stunt coordinator will tell you how to do it and they didn’t talk to me before I had to slap him, and so, I was in the middle of the scene and then I just did it and I did it HARD.

ZAC EFRON: Or sometimes you ask the stunt coordinator.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: The stunt coordinator kept saying that I wasn’t hitting you hard enough and he was like, “Hit me! Hit me!” And I was like I don’t think you want me to hit you.

ZAC EFRON: Yeah, we had a stunt coordinator that day who was instructing everyone how to slap and he goes, “You guys really got to sell it! You have to slap him!” And I’m sitting there like they’re slapping me, bro’.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: Yeah. And I slapped and the stunt coordinator was like, “You have to slap me as hard as you can.” And I’m little but I’m fierce and I slapped him so hard that the dude [was] knocked off his legs. He went rolling a little bit. And I was like, “I can’t do that.”

ZAC EFRON: He fell down and then he was like, “That was great!”

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: Yeah. “That was AWESOME!” Ouch.

Q: Zac, in the movie you help your son, Alex, get the girl. Do you play matchmaker in real life or have you helped any of your friends get the girl or taken anyone under your wing and kind of shown them the ropes?

ZAC EFRON: I think maybe with some best friends or close friends, but it’s not like a top priority in life really. I think they’re doing pretty good for themselves.

Q: For each of you, when you look back on this film and someone says what was your favorite part of filming or just a memory that you’re going to take with you, do you have a certain day on set or a certain time that you think you’ll probably always remember?

THOMAS LENNON: I was probably the most impressed, the day that struck me the most was the day that Zac came back. He took one day off to almost die from an appendicitis and then came immediately back to work the next day like at 8 am and that scene is the scene in the courthouse where he reads the letter to Leslie’s character and I just thought, wow, that’s unbelievably impressive because he literally came basically from the hospital that night to the set that morning and did that scene, the courthouse scene at the end of the movie that’s I think so incredibly moving, and that’s something that will always stick around with me.

Q: That’s true?

THOMAS LENNON: Yeah.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: Good answer.

Q: Zac, you had your appendix out during this as an emergency appendectomy?

ZAC EFRON: Yes.

Q: You were at work the next day?

THOMAS LENNON: (to Zac) You took one day off I think.

ZAC EFRON: Yeah, something like that.

Q: Matthew, you were involved in sports when you were in high school. I was wondering was it ever a dream of yours to become a professional basketball player. Or actually you were in tennis, right?

MATTHEW PERRY: Yeah. I was a terrible basketball player. But yeah, I wanted to be a professional tennis player but, you know, I wasn’t good enough.

Q: Was there a moment with this…?

MATTHEW PERRY: Yeah, when everybody just went “Don’t do that.” [laughter] You have to do something else. And I was very bummed that the sport in the film was basketball because it’s the one sport that I’m just terrible at, (to Zac) but you’re good at it so that’s …

ZAC EFRON: We pulled it off together, man.

Q: For each of you, one piece of advice I remember from when I was 17 is to enjoy life because it passes fast. What piece of advice do you remember that really stands out in your mind now? Maybe it would be more relevant for the older cast members.

THOMAS LENNON: Oh crap, am I one of the older cast members? [laughter] Nothing was said to me that... You know, there’s a nice message in the film. Everything is pretty stressful when you’re a kid and I know for a fact I took myself very, very, very seriously and, like I said to Zac, you truly won’t remember this part of your life. You’re lucky that they made movies about it. [laughter] You just won’t remember it.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: I’d say, I guess, I had a pretty rough high school experience. The kids were really super cruel to me and all the boys made fun of me and no one asked me out. [gestures at herself] Hot! Look at me now! [laughter] That was just a side note. Look mom, I have boobs. I guess it would be that… Literally, that’s my mom back there. I guess it would be that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I think when you’re going through high school as a teenager and the kids are horribly cruel, whatever you experience in life, even if you’re the most popular kid, there’s going to be someone who’s trying to throw stones at you in every little path that you take so you really just have to think that it’s going to get better and words are just that.

THOMAS LENNON: That was good.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: Thanks, Tom.

MATTHEW PERRY: I think what Tom was saying too I agree with. I wish I could go back and sort of just tell myself to chill out a little bit more and not take everything so seriously because everything’s so serious when you’re that age. You know?

ZAC EFRON: Yeah, because everything is heightened. You feel like you’re an adult when you’re 17 and you have the social awareness of an adult but that doesn’t really apply in high school because everyone’s young and stupid. It’s hard if you take it too seriously so I’d probably go back and tell myself to chill out. This is just the beginning and get ready because stuff’s about to pop off.

LESLIE MANN: I didn’t listen to people because I thought I knew better and I don’t remember taking advice from people at all [laughs] because I thought I knew better and now I realize that I didn’t. It’s too late. I figured it out.

Q: For Zac and Matt and Tom, I liked your friendship in this film. Did you have that sort of friendship during your school days?

THOMAS LENNON: I certainly never had as a nerd, as an actual nerd who played the cello, wore a lot of tinted Clearasil on my face and bow ties. I never had the sort of actual Zac Efron type take me under his wing, which would have been a wonderful experience. I’m sure I would have done better with the ladies. But no, I was mostly flying solo with the cello and the bow ties. I did not have this kind of actual friendship. It would have been nice.

MATTHEW PERRY: I don’t know if walking around with Zac Efron would have made you do better with the ladies.

THOMAS LENNON: Nah. There’s always some spillover.

MATTHEW PERRY: Yeah. Spillover.

ZAC EFRON: No. In high school, it wouldn’t have helped you, man. It would not have helped. I had friends from all different clicks so to speak. I didn’t just stick to one group of friends. I kind of had them in all different areas of high school. So I’m sure I had several of these friendships.

Q: Do you have a best friend?

ZAC EFRON: My best friend? Yeah, I’ve got 4 or 5 best friends. I don’t know. I guess we are all about the same. We’re kind of geeky, fun loving kind of guys.

Q: The movie talks about growing up and being mature and embracing what we have right now in life. I was wondering what is your perspective of getting older since you’re all from different generations? Is it scary? Is it pleasant?

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: I really love it. As a female looking at men, I think men get sexier as they get older and obviously women are so much more mature so it takes a few years for the men to catch up and that’s really cool. I love getting older. In fact, my sister is always yelling at me to like, “Oh, now you’re almost 24!” And I’m like, “Yeah, I’m only 8 months away.” I think it’s really…I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to go back to being younger. Everything that I’ve learned has shaped me as the person I am today. So, I love getting older. I think women age beautifully as well and it’s great the wisdom that you can achieve. It’s so much different from when you were 17.

MATTHEW PERRY: I’m much happier now than I was when I was that age so I think things get better. I think it has to do with not taking everything so seriously. I think you just get a little lighter as you get older. I think it sort of takes care of itself. I think it just keeps getting better.

LESLIE MANN: I think it gets way better and I think you start to learn who you really are and get comfortable in your own skin. If you have children, you stop thinking about yourself so much and gain perspective and I think it’s just like more confidence. It’s just way better.

ZAC EFRON: I cannot wait to grow up! [laughter] Apparently it’s just getting exciting.

THOMAS LENNON: You won’t fit into those jeans anymore. That’s the bummer part.

Q: You mean to grow up on screen or grow up in real life?

ZAC EFRON: No, I was being sarcastic. [laughter] I think I’m having fun right now. Whatever this age is, I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I think it’s getting better so hopefully I’ll have the same answer.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: It’s like Christina Aguilera’s song, “It Just Keeps Getting Better.”

ZAC EFRON: That’s my reference. Thank you.

Q: Zac, can you talk about hosting SNL next week?

ZAC EFRON: Yeah, I’m so excited to host SNL. I leave tonight on the red eye and we start working on the show tomorrow. It’s been a dream of mine since I was like 10 years old. I mean, improv is pretty much how I got started. They do more sketch comedy but this is how I started. This is what I want to get back to. I think it’s going to be a great week. I can’t wait.

Q: Any plans for summer vacation?

ZAC EFRON: For summer vacation? Hopefully I won’t have a summer vacation.

Q: Are you in Hairspray 2?
 
ZAC EFRON: The Hairspray sequel, I know as much as you guys at this point.
 
Q: Are you tired of dancing? Is that why you dropped out of Footloose?
 
ZAC EFRON: No, there are so many factors, it’s not just that. It’s funny that it’s perceived that way. There’s a million things that go into making a decision like that. It was very difficult. It’s not like I just feel better than thou.
 
Q: But you’re ready to move on?
 
ZAC EFRON: Yeah, no, I’m excited. I feel prepared and I’m hungry to do that. I can’t wait.
 
Q: Would Fred Astaire have given up musicals?
 
ZAC EFRON: He was quoted several times talking about how dance is his passion. I did not dance at all before High School Musical. That was a skill set that I aquired for those movies and although I do love it, there’s many more things out there to try. I want to be well rounded, kind of a renaissance man so to speak. That’s what I’m trying to go for.

“17 Again” opens in theaters on April 17th.