Zac Efron is surprising his fans by completely transforming his look for the new Harmony Korine film The Beach Bum.
In new photos showing off his character’s style in the film, Efron can be seen with highlighted pompadour-like hair and lines shaved into his beard form his ear to his chin.
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The former High School Musical star is rocking a sort-of crust-punk style, but with a religious twist.
Looking closely, it’s noticeable that the patches on his cut off, spiked denim vest say things like, “Prayer Warrior,” “I’m not perfect just forgiven,” and “Jesus is Lord.”
Bless you, Harmony Korine. pic.twitter.com/LT2y485N0y
— Nigel M. Smith (@nigelmfs) February 12, 2018
While little is known about The Beach Bum, it is deducible that Efron’s character will be some sort of born-again punk.
As previously mentioned, the film is written and directed by Harmony Korine, who would be most well-known by audiences as the writer/director of Spring Breakers.
That film saw James Franco make a significant style change as well, donning a cornrow hairstyle and gold/silver teeth caps.
In addition to Efron, The Beach Bum will also star Matthew McConaughey (True Detective), Isla Fisher (Keeping Up with the Joneses), Bria Vinaite (The Florida Project), rapper Snoop Dogg (Scary Movie 5), and iconic musician Jimmy Buffett.
Some have speculated that The Beach Bum is to be a stoner comedy, while other sources have indicated that it will be more on the dramatic side.
An IMDB synopsis of the film states that it is about “a rebellious stoner named Moondog lives life by his own rules.”
In reality, it it entirely possible that the film will be a mash-up of comedy and drama, which is very similar to how Spring Breakers plays.
Most recently Efron was seen in the circus musical The Greatest Showman opposite Hugh Jackman and Zendaya.
He has continued to reinvent himself through roles in films like Neighbors and the upcoming Ted Bundy biopic Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.
One of the things he cites as being integral to his continued success and creative evolution is making the decision to get sober several years ago.
In a 2016 interview with Elle, Efron spoke about how living a clean lifestyle had changed him, saying, “What I found is structure. That led me to a balance of opposites: You get out of life what you put in.
“There was a moment when my morning routine was, like, Get up and Google yourself. But that stopped, dramatically and instantly, probably three years ago. I realized that viewing yourself through other people’s pictures is not living your own life. I wasn’t really being myself,” he added.
“A lot of my hobbies had gone out the window. I couldn’t skateboard or surf for fear of being followed. Crossing the line of fear is what leads to greatness,” Efron concluded.
