Vanessa Hudgens Shares Rare Comments Recalling Early 'Chemistry' with Zac Efron in “High School Musical”

Vanessa Hudgens is looking backmost astatine nan pairing that made High School Musical specified a hit.

The actress, 36, precocious appeared connected nan Magical Rewind podcast, reflecting connected nan casting process for her domiciled arsenic Gabriella pinch big Bart Johnson, who played Coach Jack Bolton successful nan movie series.

"I conjecture I was 15. I had done a aviator for Disney Channel called The Bus Life pinch Keke Palmer. It didn't get picked up, and I had auditioned for Disney a bunch," she recalled. "I was like, 'It's ne'er gonna hap for me.' And this audition came up for High School Musical, and I was like, 'I don't wanna go. I'm not gonna get it.' "

"I went successful begrudgingly and did nan audition. It was a normal audition," she continued. "I don't moreover retrieve what I sang...I deliberation possibly I sang 'Angels' by Jessica Simpson aliases 'Reflection' from Mulan and did 1 of nan scenes and past ended up getting a callback."

As nan callbacks continued and nan groups narrowed down, she said nan actors "got mixed and matched pinch a bunch of people."

"I sewage mixed up and I deliberation I sewage put with Zac [Efron] correct away," she added.

Efron ended up being nan cleanable Troy to her Gabriella.

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"Me and Zac did nan segment together. I sang pinch him. I consciousness for illustration he sewage paired up pinch personification other arsenic well. I don't know. It each seems for illustration specified a blur," she continued. "And past I consciousness for illustration a fewer weeks aft that, I sewage nan last callback, and it was, like, a last pairing wherever location was 1 different woman location for Gabriella, 1 different feline location for Troy, and we, like, swapped, mixed and matched. And that was it."

"I sewage nan call, and they were like, 'We want you to do it.' And I was like, 'Oh my god. It's yet happening!'" she added.

The casting couldn't person been much spot-on. The 2 teens fell successful love connected group of nan first film, and erstwhile nan Disney Channel flick premiered successful 2006, they instantly became teen icons. Their narration blossomed arsenic millions of fans watched their each move and plastered posters up connected their chamber walls.

The conception of nan philharmonic movie was particularly breathtaking for Hudgens — and nan "cute" costar didn't hurt, either.

"I grew up doing theater. I did my first movie erstwhile I was 13 years old. I had travel disconnected of this large workplace movie called Thunderbirds, which had changeable successful London for, like, six months. The wheels were turning," she recalled. "But it was very breathtaking because coming from, like, a philharmonic theatre background, that is and still is wherever my bosom remains. So I was very excited."

"And then, of course, like, I was a kid and paired pinch this boy, and I was like, 'Oh my god. He's truthful cute.' So, like, nan chemistry was truthful real," she admitted pinch a laugh.

Johnson noted their behind-the-scenes flirtation must person helped them pass their on-screen romance to an audience, to which Hudgens said, "It really does. Especially erstwhile you're young and it's each saccharine and innocent."

Efron and Hudgens stuck by each other's sides through each three High School Musical films and went connected to support each different arsenic their careers expanded beyond nan halls of East High. Although they called it quits in 2010 and mislaid touch, nan erstwhile mates has had thing but bully things to opportunity astir each different successful nan years since.