Zac Efron sees a whole lot of the late Matthew Perry in Joey King.
The Iron Claw actor, 36, complimented his A Family Affair costar, 24, on her physical comedy skills during a joint interview with Entertainment Weekly published Tuesday, July 2.
“Her stunt — when you walk in the room when Nicole [Kidman] and I are hooking up — it’s one of the funniest things ever,” Efron told the outlet. “I think that was one of the most brilliant physical comedy bits I’ve seen in a long time. That was very funny. Matthew Perry-esque. It was genius.”
King, who was not expecting that high of praise, replied, “Oh, that’s so nice of you. Oh, gosh.”
In their new Netflix comedy, Efron plays Hollywood hot shot Chris Cole, while King plays his assistant, Zara. When Chris unexpectedly falls in love with Zara’s mom, Brooke (Kidman), hijinks ensue as they all try to navigate their situation.
The scene Efron was referring to is when Zara walks in on Chris and Brooke in a compromising position after too much tequila. Zara then chokes on grape and hits her head so hard on the doorframe while trying to exit the room that she knocks herself out.
Efron and Perry, meanwhile, famously starred in the 2009 remake of 17 Again, in which Efron played the teenage version of Perry’s character.
The High School Musical alum has previously spoken about how important his bond with his costar was in the months after Perry’s death. The Friends actor died in October 2023 from the “acute effects of ketamine,” according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office. His death was ruled an accident. He was 54 years old.
“I’m still devastated by the fact that he is gone,” Efron told Extra in November that year, before responding to hearing that Perry’s friend Athenna Crosby said in an interview with ET Canada that the late actor wanted the Greatest Showman star to play him in a biopic.
“I was hugely honored. It would be extraordinary to do,” Efron said at the time. “We’ll see what happens.”
In a separate interview with Entertainment Tonight, Efron added: “To think he was thinking of me for that role, I mean I would be honored to do it, to be honest.”
He went on to call Perry “the best guy in the world,” telling the outlet, “I had the best time of my life working with him.”
