The High School Musical craze lives on — even all the way across the globe!
Zac Efron revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday that he was recognized by a tribe in Papua New Guinea because of his breakout role as Troy Bolton in the Disney musical franchise.
Efron, 34, told host Jimmy Kimmel about his crocodile catching excursion with the tribesmen, explaining, “I lived with this local tribe. They were from the Sepik River, and they’re kind of well known as the crocodile people because they live in the Sepik River, and they worship crocodiles. It’s their deity, their god.”
Kimmel then asked the Down to Earth host if he was recognized at any point during the trip or if the group ever saw him in the Disney films.
Nodding his head, Efron explained, “I was out there camping, I didn’t have a cellphone. We were off the grid. In Papua New Guinea, there’s no technology. We were sleeping in little huts that they had for us — and that was me and a lot of buddies. We were roughing it, for sure.”
However, by the end of the trip, “a couple of guys came to me with cell phones — these are the tribesmen guys. We FaceTimed their cousins, their wives and people that were living in other places all over the world,” he said.
“They knew who I was the whole time and didn’t say anything about it! It was pretty wild, and then I realized, ‘Wow, OK. I’ve made it everywhere.’ “
Earlier this month, the well-traveled star came up during Jessica Alba’s appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show — and is part of the reason why her children think she’s a “nerd.”
