Zac Efron has admitted the ultra-ripped body he built for Baywatch left him unhappy and struggling with his wellbeing and says he is no longer prepared to put his mental health at risk for a movie role.
The 38-year-old actor has opened up about a dramatic shift in his priorities, acknowledging that the physique he achieved for the 2017 film was unsustainable and that men, like women, need to be realistic about the bodies they are expected to achieve.
Speaking to Heat magazine, Efron said: '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.'
The admission gives a revealing glimpse behind one of Hollywood's most celebrated physiques and shows how a body that appeared enviable on screen came with a far less glamorous reality for the actor.
The Extreme Baywatch Transformation Took a Toll
Efron's Baywatch physique required months of intense preparation. But his 2022 interview revealed that the transformation went far beyond simply spending more time in the gym.
The actor said he was overtraining, following a strict diet and sometimes waking at 4am to work out after filming had finished late the previous night. He also revealed that he used Lasix, a diuretic, to achieve the extremely defined appearance seen in the film.
Efron has since described that look as not genuinely attainable in everyday life, explaining that achieving such extreme definition requires having very little water beneath the skin.
The consequences were serious. Efron said he developed insomnia and experienced what he described as a 'pretty bad depression' for a long time.
'Something about that experience burned me out. I had a really hard time recentering,' he said.
He also said he eventually realized he had pushed himself too far, and that the effects lasted well beyond filming. According to his 2022 account, it took around six months after Baywatch wrapped before he began to feel like himself again.
Zac Efron Now Wants Happiness Over the Perfect Physique
Efron's latest comments show that his definition of success has changed.
Rather than measuring himself by how lean or muscular he can become for a role, the actor says his focus is now on protecting his mental health and finding greater balance between his career and personal life.
'It's taken me a while to get there, but my biggest motivation is to be happy in both my professional and personal life. For too long, I only focused on work and I neglected my personal life,' he said.
That admission adds another layer to his Baywatch experience. The issue was not simply the physical effort required to achieve a six-pack, but the lifestyle and personal sacrifices involved in maintaining an extreme Hollywood physique.
His warning also reflects a wider conversation about body standards for men. While appearance pressures are often associated with women, Efron highlights that male actors and celebrities can face expectations to become exceptionally muscular and lean.
Importantly, his message is not that fitness itself is unhealthy. Instead, his experience illustrates the difference between maintaining a sustainable level of fitness and pursuing an extreme appearance for the screen.
After learning the hard way that an impressive physique can come at a personal cost, Efron appears to have chosen a different measure of success—one that puts happiness, health and a life beyond Hollywood ahead of chasing the perfect body.
