Ladies’ choice! Nikki Blonsky still has the fondest memories of working with Zac Efron while filming 2007’s Hairspray — especially when it comes to their onscreen kiss.
“Zac and I stood there for nine days. It was great. He is magic,” the Golden Globe nominee, 32, gushed during an interview on the Wednesday, December 23, episode of the “Women on Top” podcast. “He is a very talented man, all in all. He’s got it all, what can I say?”
Blonsky and the Greatest Showman star, 33, starred as Tracy Turnblad and Link Larkin, respectively, in the movie musical based on the 2002 Broadway show of the same name. Their characters share a chaste kiss after dancing together on the fictional Corny Collins Show at the end of the film — but Blonsky remembered the moment as not exactly PG-rated.
“He slipped [his tongue] on me!” the New York native revealed on Wednesday. “Adam Shankman, our director, called him on it. Adam was like, ‘Hey, whoa, just caught the tongue!’ And Adam was like, ‘No! No tongue!’ He’s like, ‘This is PG, there is no tongue!'”
The Queen Sized actress and the Baywatch star sparked a strong bond while filming the 1960s-themed musical. As their friendship continued to grow, they spent more and more time together off the set — and Blonsky took on an unexpected chore.
“Not to make every woman and gay man jealous, but he was my best friend on the set of Hairspray,” she said of the High School Musical actor. “Even when we weren’t filming, we were together on the weekends. [He was] constantly at my apartment and I was always at his, doing his laundry when he didn’t do it. I will toss him under the bus for not doing his laundry! And he knows it!”
Blonsky had “the best time” with Efron — even when she was cleaning up his messes. “I would be like, ‘Listen, buddy. How many piles are over there? What’s going on?'” she joked. “I love him.”
Sparks flew between the duo onscreen, but the chemistry between the two actors was just as noticeable off camera. While promoting the film together in 2007, Efron joked that he was able to relate to his character on more than one level.
“I’m not all about these super, super skinny, perfect girls,” the California native said at the time, sitting beside Blonsky with his arm around her shoulders. “It’s self-confidence, it’s a sense of humor, it’s fun … it’s how comfortable you are [in your skin].”
Blonksy teased back, “It’s how you shake your stuff.”
