Zac Efron on ‘Today’ on Wednesday, Dec. 20.Photo:Today Show

Zac Efron Wears Sunglasses for Today Interview Due to Eye Infection: ‘I Feel Weird Being in Shades’

Today Show

Zac Efronwore an unexpected accessory during hisTodayappearance on Wednesday morning.

TheHigh School Musicalalum then apologized, and explained his decision to don the shades — and it wasn’t for fashion.

“No, I’m sorry man," Efron told Melvin. “I feel weird being in shades.”

“I just have a bit of an eye infection,” he continued. “But I really wanted to be here. It’s such a good movie, and I want to come see you guys and tell everyone about it.”

This is not the first time Efron has had to explain a change in his appearance due to a health issue.

Last year, rampant online speculation that the star got plastic surgery on his jaw — whichMen’s Healthdubbed “jaw-gate” —prompted him to disclose a bit about his medical history.

While speaking with the outlet, Efron acknowledged that his looks had changed in recent years. He explained that this occurred after he fell over at his home andbroke his jawin November 2013, making his face and jaw muscles have to work extra hard.

While a person’s masseter (the muscles used for chewing) and other face muscles should operate “like a symphony,” this was no longer the case after his injury, he toldMen’s Health.

Zac Efron and his ‘Iron Claw’ castmates on ‘Today’ on Wednesday, Dec. 20.Today Show

Zac Efron Wears Sunglasses for Today Interview Due to Eye Infection: ‘I Feel Weird Being in Shades’

Efron also revealed that he was seeing a physical therapist to help, but he briefly stopped while filming his Netflix series,Down to Earth,in Australia in 2021. And this also caused his jaw muscles to change.

“The masseters just grew,” he said. “They just got really, really big.”

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More recently, Efron underwent a lot of intended physical changes to prepare for his role inThe Iron Claw, in which hedons “tiny spandex” briefsto portray one of the Von Erich brothers — key figures in early ’80s pro wrestling — alongsideJeremy Allen Whiteand Harris Dickinson.

Elsewhere in his 2022 interview withMen’s Health— which was published before his role as the real-life pro wrestler was known — Efron explained that heapproached bulking up for the part differentlythan he did for 2017’sBaywatch.

Zac Efron in December 2023.Leon Bennett/Getty

Zac Efron attends his Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony on December 11, 2023 in Hollywood, California.

Leon Bennett/Getty

The actor said he “fell into a pretty bad depression, for a long time” while recovering from the rigorous training he underwent for the film.

“ThatBaywatchlook, I don’t know if that’s really attainable,” he said at the time. “There’s just too little water in the skin. Like, it’s fake; it looks CGI’d. And that required Lasix, powerful diuretics, to achieve. So I don’t need to do that.”

Efron added, “I much prefer to have an extra, you know, two to three percent body fat.”

The Iron Clawis in theaters Dec. 22.

source: people.com