Based on a novel by Ben Sherwood and directed by Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down, 17 Again), Charlie St. Cloud is a romantic drama starring Zac Efron.

Fanbolt met up with Efron himself and onscreen little brother Charlie Tahan at The Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey. This charming LA town is known for its postcard-esque harbor and vast array of boats, serving as the perfect backdrop to Charlie St. Cloud's visually alluring Marblehead, Mass. setting.

Read on as Efron candidly discusses his latest flick, life after Disney and why Charlie St. Cloud was his most challenging role to date.


You two had great chemistry together. Did you have a lot of time to get to know each other?

Zac Efron: Yeah, when you can get him out of his trailer! Such a diva...

[Laughs.] No, we had a blast!

Charlie Tahan: Lots of hockey games.

Zac Efron: We tried to have fun and do stuff. We went to hockey games, saw a lot of sports, we played catch everyday. It was fun.

There are a lot of movies about "man-children," grown-up men who act like boys. But Burr tends to make movies about boys who have the weight of the world of an adult man on their shoulders. What is he like as a director? How does he get that mature performance out of you because you're still so young?

Zac Efron: He's very generous with the actors. It's funny because Burr is rare to give a camera note or anything like that, but guaranteed with every take, he's running over and talking to us. He's got so much to say--opinions, new point of view, some thing to think about, which is great because I enjoy that much attention from a director. He's performance-oriented, definitely.

How do you define the character interactions throughout the movie? The two most important relationships are essentially imaginary. Did you have to make adjustments?

Charlie Tahan: I'm not trying to act like I'm dead, I'm normal—us playing baseball in the field like normal brothers.

Zac Efron: When he comes back that's when Charlie really is living. That's what he looks most forward to and is having the most fun.

Do you think of it in terms of it's a ghost you're interacting with or a person?

Zac Efron: I think it's real to Charlie, like a real person. But he's aware that it's too good.

What is your reaction to seeing yourself onscreen?

Charlie Tahan: I don't really know what to expect because I haven't seen myself that much. I was nervous at first, but as we got into it, I thought, "I'm doing okay!"

Zac Efron: My head is huge!

[Both laugh.]

Zac Efron: Enrique [Chediak] was a really cool, fascinating D.P. (Director of Photography). He was really good at making everything look beautiful. That was what struck me the first time. I noticed that first and foremost, the way the ocean looked and was depicted, I loved that.

As far as looking at myself on screen, I tend to pick out every single flaw that I could have or should have done better. I'm more of a cringer at first and when it is years down the road and out of my way, I can actually appreciate it somehow.