Zac Efron Explains His Favorite Movie Kiss Ever

zendaya and zac efron kiss in the greatest showman

Zac Efron has had his share of onscreen love interests, but his upcoming venture in The Greatest Showman has him sharing a lot of scenes with co-star Zendaya, and he recently spoiled a little kiss between the two characters. In fact, he went so far as to describe a kiss between characters Philip Carlyle and Anne Wheeler as his favorite movie kiss ever. According to Efron,

This might be my favorite kiss, I think ever. Just because at this point for these characters, it's so built up, the tension between them is so strong, and literally, just a glance between them is electric. And when they finally have the courage to sort of in that moment finally connect and get that kiss, it's that epic musical moment.

Zac Efron isn't exactly the actor we generally think of when pondering lovely romances and heartfelt moments. In fact, most of us tend to think of him flexing his muscles or cracking jokes, first. However, Efron keeps his shirt on in The Greatest Showman, a movie which has him starring as P.T. Barnum's business apprentice and partner, a young man who pretty much falls for Zendaya's Anne Wheeler the first time he sees her on the trapeze. It's 1800s America and she's a circus performer, something his wealthy family generally disdains. But it turns out, they are a perfect fit, and when they do finally kiss, the sparks are simply "electric."

Zac Efron recently gave his thoughts to FilmWebTv, who also interviewed Zendaya about the matter. She also felt the kiss in the movie was different, and it comes after plenty of moments of yearning and nods to high society and its rules throughout the film. She said:

It's not just another kiss. It's different. We try to take ourselves out of it and become these two characters, and that's their moment.

You can always tell the difference between the projects actors take because it's a nice opportunity or because they need to pay the bills and the roles they take because they genuinely believe the story is one worth telling. The Greatest Showman is, first and foremost, a spectacle, but it also has some really touching moments and some characters with depth. Efron, Zendaya, lead actor Hugh Jackman and everyone else really poured themselves into their parts, and it's not surprising the romantic moment felt really special to those involved.

The Greatest Showman officially opens on December 20, so fans of musicals on film will only have a few more days to wait before they see how the P.T. Barnum-centered flick pans out. While the movie is often about Hugh Jackman's Barnum and the decisions and sacrifices he made to achieve his dream, plenty of the characters he honed into circus performers get their own musical moments, and Philip Carlyle and Anne Wheeler are no exception.

To take a look at what else is heading into theaters this holiday season, give our full movies schedule a glance.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.