Zac Efron is investing in his happiness after ‘neglecting’ his personal life throughout his career.
The 38-year-old actor – who is living in Australia – revealed his priorities have shifted and he’s now prioritizing his mental health.
‘It’s taken me a while to get there, but my biggest motivation is to be happy in both my professional and personal life,’ he told Heat magazine.
‘For too long, I only focused on work and I neglected my personal life.’
The former High School Musical star also vowed to never again sacrifice his mental health after going to extreme lengths to get in shape for 2017’s Baywatch movie.
He shared: ‘I think men, just like women, have to be realistic. The shape I was in for Baywatch, wasn’t sustainable. I wasn’t happy living the way I was to get in that shape. These days, I place a much bigger priority on my mental health.’
Zac Efron is investing in his happiness after ‘neglecting’ his personal life throughout his career; pictured in 2017’s Baywatch
The 38-year-old actor revealed his priorities have shifted and he’s now prioritizing his mental health; pictured in 2009’s 17 Again
Efron’s comments come after it was revealed the actor has been busy building his dream home in Australia.
He is working on the project with designer Joost Bakker, who is creating a unique and sustainable home for him in the countryside near Byron Bay in New South Wales, where Zac bought a 128-hectare plot of land in 2020.
The house will be mostly made from hemp and feature six bedroom ‘pods’ as well as a rooftop garden.
Efron recently revealed he bought the land in Australia on the advice of fellow actor Russell Crowe and said he’s excited about building his dream home there.
He told the Australian Financial Review: ‘Russell Crowe told me it’s a good idea to get land in Australia; he did it when he was young, and it was one of the things he told me he is extremely proud of, that decision.
‘It set him up really well for the future, and it’s a piece of advice and I followed it. I love Australia, it’s cool.’
The actor added about his new home: ‘It’s gotten to a place that it’s potentially the coolest house ever built…
‘I live a pretty fast-paced life and work quite a bit, so in between movies and press tours, my number one goal is always to take time for myself and rest and recharge and to be in nature as much as possible, and as close to the earth as I can, and this land just feels like it’s perfect for that.’
‘It’s taken me a while to get there, but my biggest motivation is to be happy in both my professional and personal life,’ he recently said; pictured in January 2024
Efron is seen with (left to right) Holt McCallany, Harris Dickinson, and Jeremy Allen White in 2023 biographical film The Iron Claw about the legendary Von Erich pro-wrestling family
Efron rose to fame in the early 2000s High School Musical franchise
The star pictured in May 2006
The update marks a major milestone for the eco-conscious project, which has been years in the making.
Images shared by Bakker via Instagram in May suggest the home will be far from an ordinary celebrity mansion.
Photos showed experimental hemp blocks, recycled oyster shells, agricultural waste products and innovative plant-based construction materials being developed specifically for the project.
The planned home will cover nearly 9,000 sq ft and comes with a $2.65 million build cost.
In one image, Bakker stood in a trench alongside farmers on a hemp crop in regional New South Wales.
Other photos revealed prototype building blocks, industrial kilns and piles of discarded oyster shells destined to be transformed into construction materials.
