Fantasy actor Zac Efron

Nov 28, 2009, 9:01 GMT

11/24/2009 - Zac Efron - The \'Me and Orson Welles\' actor says his favourite thing about being a Hollywood movie star is being able to explore characters who are "cooler" than him and who lead more interesting lives. © Janet Mayer / PR Photos

Zac Efron likes to "live out his fantasies" through his movies.

The 'Me and Orson Welles' actor says his favourite thing about being a Hollywood movie star is being able to explore characters who are "cooler" than him and who lead more interesting lives.

He said: "I find that it's always more interesting to live out your fantasies through characters. It's not necessarily that I'm afraid to be myself - it's that you get to do cooler things, you get to me a more interesting person when you're playing someone else. You get to be all the things you wanted to be, or someone else that was really cool, or be someone that you really hate."

The 22-year-old actor found it easy to relate to his latest film role because of his four-year-long relationship to his 'High School Musical' co-star Vanessa Hudgens.

In Zac's latest movie he portrays teenage student Richard Samuels who, by luck, gets to work with a young Orson Welles and grows close to production assistant Sonja Jones - played by Claire Danes.

He explained to Britain's Guardian newspaper: "I always enjoy that character in movies, the one who represents the real guy. I enjoyed the moment where my character Richard asks Sonja what it's like to be a beautiful woman, because that's gone through every guy's head.

"I think that's a feeling that guys can relate to who've been in a relationship, you know what I mean? You take the lead from them."