Zac Efron played the teenage version of Matthew Perry in 2009’s 17 Again.
“I had the benefit of being able to watch Matthew my whole life before that movie started,” Efron recalled in a December 2023 interview with Variety. “It’s not like we hammered home how to do the jokes or the character. I had to make it true to myself and be able to make it happen. But there’s those things that Matthew Perry just invented. The way he kind of just brought humor to camera, they’re like ingrained in me. I think they’re a huge part of why I’m here, is comedic timing from Matthew Perry for years and years and years.”
He added, “I could kind of go through a scene in my mind and be like, ‘Oh, he’d definitely do this, oh, he’d definitely do that.’ That was really all it took — that, and putting yourself in your dad’s shoes, which was really crazy.”
In 17 Again, Mike O’Donnell (Perry) is on the precipice of divorce when he gets the chance to relive his high school glory days. After a magical occurrence, Mike is suddenly younger (played by Efron) as he goes back to high school — this time alongside his own children.
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