Why Zac Efron wore sunglasses on the ‘Today’ show: ‘He’s not well’

For Zac Efron, A24‘s The Iron Claw was the most challenging project in a career of more than two decades, but “in the best ways possible.”

Zac Efron wore some of his skimpiest costumes to date and learned wrestling moves for his new movie Iron Claw. However, he handled both aspects of the project with grace.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The British Academy of Film and Television Arts, or BAFTA, has become a crucial indicator on which films and performances could garner support for the Academy Awards due to the huge overlap of voting members. Over the years, its influence on the Oscars has been undeniable, with many of its winners often helping to shape a narrative. After getting ignored by all the major guilds, last year’s German-language film “All Quiet on the Western Front” made a big showing before going on to nab nine Oscar nominations and winning four.

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City season 4 finale had to deliver—and deliver it did.Fans of the Housewives franchise are . The scene of the cast on the beach is receiving comparisons to Big Little Lies. It's clear that, like before it, the RHOSLC finale seemed to transcend the usual , captivating social media through memes and reactions.

Zac Efron is sharing some “firsts.”

The Color Purple” in 2007 because of trauma from a sexual assault that resurfaced when she took on the role.“That was around the time that my life was so crazy, so it was almost like carrying my cross and Celie’s cross. I didn’t know how to come out of the character,” Barrino, 39, told People.Nevertheless, Barrino reprised her role as Celie — who was also a victim of sexual assault — in “The Color Purple” film, which was released last week.The songstress revealed that she almost didn’t accept the part when director Blitz Bazawule asked her to star in the film.

Vanessa Hudgens and her husband, Cole Tucker’s, first Christmas as newlyweds, and she shared an adorable selfie, smiling brightly with the pro baseball player. The photo was taken at a golf course, which triggered a High School Musical 2 memory for fans.

Jaden Thompson Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White turned heads this year when fans noticed they packed on pounds of muscle for their A24 wrestling drama “The Iron Claw,” which is based on the lives of the Von Erich brothers. Efron, Allen and the rest of the cast put in serious work to look the part for the film — but once they gained that muscle, how did they perfect those wrestling moves? Chavo Guerrero, Jr., former pro wrestler and stunt coordinator on “The Iron Claw,” speaks with Variety to unpack the actors’ intensive training process. After communicating with director Sean Durkin about his vision for the film, Guerrero began by acquainting the actors with the wrestling ring and the fundamentals of the sport.

Showtime is hanging up its gloves.

Watching “The Iron Claw” can feel like getting slammed with a metal folding chair over and over again.So bludgeoning are the true and tragic circumstances that befell the famous Von Erich wresting family during the 1980s and 90s, which director Sean Durkin’s film depicts.Running time: 130 minutes. Rated R (language, suicide, some sexuality and drug use.) In theaters.Starting about halfway through the movie that stars Zac Efron in prime meathead mode, a shaken man sitting next to me in the theater repeatedly whispered “What the f–k?” about fifty times.

Zac Efron‘s appearance is yet again sparking controversy!

Zac Efron explained why he was wearing sunglasses while appearing on the Today show.

Nicholas Weinstock The first time I went to Ghana, I was 19 years old and volunteering to build a health clinic in a rural village. It was the early ‘90s, I was a teenaged lunatic, and everything bad that could have happened to me did: I got malaria; I was beaten up by soldiers on the border with the Ivory Coast — but I also encountered wonderful people and stunning and moving and unforgettable experiences and friendships.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Better late than never, the 50th Annual Daytime Emmys got underway on Friday night from downtown Los Angeles’ Westin Bonaventure Hotel, after six months of postponement due to the Hollywood strikes. Airing live on CBS, “Entertainment Tonight” hosts Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner were back to emcee this year’s event. “General Hospital” jumped out to a dominant early lead in the competition, winning six awards — including daytime drama, as well as both supporting actor and supporting actress, younger actor, guest actor and directing.

Friends star’s recent passing.The two actors starred together in the 2009 comedy film 17 Again about a struggling father, Mike O’Donnell (Perry), who suddenly transforms into his teenage self (portrayed by Efron).In a new interview with Variety, the High School Musical star reflected on the time he spent with Perry years ago, and how the Chandler Bing actor became an important figure in his life.“I hold the time we shared together really dear. I’ve been thinking about him a lot, every day,” Efron said.

Zac Efron opened up in a confessional new interview.

Zac Efron was two movies deep into the Disney Channel’s “High School Musical” franchise, in which he played singing, dancing basketball phenom Troy Bolton. He’d been the swoony romantic lead in the movie musical “Hairspray,” opposite John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer, was shortly to play opposite Matthew Perry in “17 Again,” and had pulled his T-shirt up on the cover of Rolling Stone under the headline “The New American Heartthrob.” At 21, Efron might have seemed like the kind of actor who was as likely to watch footage of the moon landing and decide to become an astronaut as he was to take inspiration from Mickey Rourke’s grizzled, broken-down performance. And yet.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Gladiators, pain freaks, brutes, clowns, true athletes, fake competitors: The slab-of-meat stars of professional wrestling are all those things. And back in the 1980s, when wrestling was reaching its cultural zenith, it almost looked as if you could divide the world between those who took wrestling on the level and those who dismissed it as a vulgar, over-the-top bad joke.

Considering the foothold it has in American pop culture, it’s somewhat surprising that there have been so few movies about pro wrestling. In fact, over the last 15 years, the only real notable narrative films on the subject are Darren Aronofsky’s 2008 drama “The Wrestler” and the solid, but already forgotten 2018 dramedy “Fighting With My Family.” The last 12 months have been something of a sea change, comparably, with Roger Ross Williams’ superb “Cassandro” about famed exótico lucha libre wrestler Saúl Armendáriz and now, Sean Durkin’s “The Iron Claw,” a spotlight on the Von Erichs, one of the most respected and snakebit families in the sport.

Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White were joined by some wrestling legends at the L.A. premiere of their new indie movie The Iron Claw!