Zac Efron references his shocking jaw injury in his new romantic comedy A Family Affair.
The 36-year-old American actor is back on screen as the male lead in the Netflix film, starring Nicole Kidman as his romantic partner.
He plays the fictional, shallow and vain movie star Chris Cole, while Nicole plays the writer Brook Harwood, the mother of his patient assistant Zara (Joey King).
One scene shows Chris and Brook’s romance blossoming as they cozy up on the couch and share stories about the injuries they’ve sustained over the years.
Chris tells Brook that he had surgery on his chin after an accident that left him in shock, a direct reference to the debilitating jaw injury Zac suffered in real life.
Chris says, “I did have surgery. I fell on set, some broken glass,” before lifting his head to show Brooke the scar on the underside of his chin.
The story bears a strong resemblance to Zac’s real-life accident, where he slipped and broke his jaw at home after hitting his chin on a water fountain.
Viewers also took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to comment on Zac’s changed appearance in the film, after the nasty accident left him with a fuller, more square jawline.
Zac Efron has referenced the shocking real-life jaw injury that left his jawline and face reshaped in his new romantic comedy A Family Affair (left in 2007 and right in the film)
With many confused about the reason behind his changed appearance, someone asked, ‘What happened to Zac Efron’s face? Did he get a lot of fillers?’
Another said: ‘I’m watching A Family Affair what happened to Zac Efron’s face?’, while a third asked: ‘What happened to Zac Efron’s face??’
A fourth commented: ‘Zac Efron’s face looks so stiff but he’s still cute,’ and a fifth wrote: ‘Why does Zac Efron’s face look different? Did something happen?’
While another added: ‘I just started watching A Family Affair on Netflix and what happened to Zac Efron’s face? Surgery? Or makeup for the movie?’
In 2022, Zac described the shocking accident in which he shattered his jaw after rumors of plastic surgery were raised due to his prominent, square chin.
In 2022, Zac described the accident in which he shattered his jaw after being hit with rumors of plastic surgery due to his more prominent chin (left in 2019 and right in the film)
Zac told Men’s Health Magazine how he slipped in a puddle of water while running in his socks at home and hit his chin in a granite fountain.
He recalls losing consciousness and waking up to find his chin bone “hanging off his face” after the horrific accident in 2013.
Zac explained how the chewing muscles on the inside of his face and jaw ‘compensated’ for the injury and increased in size, changing the shape of his jaw.
“The chewing muscles just grew. They just got really, really big,” he said of the shocking accident.
Zac later told Entertainment Tonight that he nearly died after the freak injury, explaining, “It was funny. It sucks. I nearly died, but we’re good.”
Zac starred alongside Nicole Kidman and Joey King in A Family Affair, with viewers noticing his appearance had changed following the shocking injury
The High School Musical star claimed he didn’t know his transformation had gone viral on social media until his mother told him about the plastic surgery rumors.
“My mom told me, I don’t really read anything on the internet, so I don’t really care,” he admitted.
Zac’s boyfriend Kyle Sandilands also denied rumours at the time that the Baywatch star had undergone plastic surgery.
“I would know if he had plastic surgery,” Australian radio presenter Kyle said at the time on The Kyle And Jackie O Show.