Efron began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence as a teen idol for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the High School Musical film series (2006–2008).

Efron had starring roles in the films New Year's Eve (2011), The Lucky One (2012), The Paperboy (2012), Neighbors (2014), Dirty Grandpa (2016), Baywatch (2017), and The Greatest Showman (2017).

He played Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) and Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw (2023).

[12] Efron subsequently worked at The Great American Melodrama and the Vaudeville theaters,[13] and began taking singing lessons.

Production conflicted with the High School Musical concert tour, which prevented Efron from joining; Drew Seeley filled in.

Efron appeared as a part of the large ensemble cast in Garry Marshall's New Year's Eve (2011), which depicted a series of holiday vignettes of different groups of characters.

He also played a supporting role in the critically successful Liberal Arts (2012), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2012 and received a limited release later that year.

After lending his voice to the animated film The Lorax (2012), he appeared as the male lead in the romantic drama The Lucky One (2012), based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks.

The film, which starred Efron as one of three bachelors in New York City, became a moderate commercial success despite receiving mostly negative reviews from critics.

The film revolved around a young couple who struggle to raise their baby daughter while living next to the house of a wild fraternity led by its president, played by Efron.

In January 2016, he starred in the adult comedy Dirty Grandpa as a straitlaced young man who begrudgingly indulges his grandfather's unhinged personality by taking him on a vacation to Florida.

Also in 2017, Efron had a supporting role in two biographical films released in December: The Disaster Artist, a comedy-drama directed by and starring James Franco, and as Phillip in the musical The Greatest Showman.

[35] The company played a part in the production of his films Dirty Grandpa, That Awkward Moment, and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.

[36] In 2019, Efron's brother Dylan, who also plays a role in the company, stated that Ninjas Runnin' Wild has started to produce more digital content in addition to their traditional film work.

[39] "Off the Grid" follows Efron and his brother Dylan as they participate in outdoor activities and trips without electronic devices—with the exception of a video camera in order to document their experiences.

[40] "Gym Time" spotlights fitness and nutrition, with Efron informing his viewers that he plans to "train with celebrities, athletes, and interesting people".

[45] Efron turned to Transcendental Meditation to help decompress after struggling to separate himself from his role as serial killer Ted Bundy in his movie.

"[46] Efron moved to Australia after selling his Los Angeles home in early 2021[47][48] and purchased a property in Byron Bay while working on a number of projects there.

[50] He revealed in 2022 that he almost died during this incident, and that it was responsible for his facial swelling, apparent in a viral 2021 video for Bill Nye's Earth Day Musical.

He was flown to St Andrews War Memorial Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, and was treated before flying back home on December 25.

[53][54][55][56] Efron was a vegan for two years until 2022, when he began intermittent fasting,[57] and reintroduced meat into his diet after undergoing a series of food sensitivity tests.