Vanessa Hudgens Reflects on That “So Cute” Moment With Zac Efron During the Audition for High School Musical
There’s something almost magical in the way life and art can mirror each other, and when I heard what Vanessa Hudgens recently shared about her time filming High School Musical, it brought back memories of teenage dreams and sweet firsts. In a candid appearance on the “Magical Rewind” podcast with host Bart Johnson, Vanessa looked back at the audition process, her shock at landing the part of Gabriella, and that moment when she and Zac Efron were first paired together. She admitted she thought, “Oh my god, he’s so cute.”
Vanessa revealed she was just about 15 when the audition came around. She had just finished a pilot for Disney that didn’t get picked up and believed she was never going to get the big break. She went in “begrudgingly” for the HSM audition and sang either “Angels” by Jessica Simpson or “Reflection” from Mulan — she couldn’t even remember exactly. Yet from the moment she sang and did scenes with Zac, things clicked. They were mixed and matched with many actors at callbacks, but when she and Zac were paired, the chemistry felt real, she said. “The chemistry was so real,” Vanessa said, candidly.
I remember watching HSM when it first aired—there was a vibrancy in that pairing of Gabriella and Troy. A softness, a hopefulness, a kind of “what if” feeling that resonated big time. Hearing Vanessa say their chemistry had roots in something sweet and innocent, something almost fated, made the film feel even more special. She said that because they were young, their innocent glances and that “cute” first crush feeling made the on-screen spark more authentic.
It’s interesting because Vanessa didn’t expect any of this. She’d auditioned lots for Disney, felt the rejection, and yet here came this moment that would change everything. “I was like, ‘It’s never gonna happen for me.’” she recalled. When she got the final callback with one other girl and one other guy for the parts of Gabriella and Troy, and was told they wanted her, she said: “Oh my god. It’s finally happening!”
And then there’s the personal layer: Vanessa and Zac dated from 2005 to 2010. So the onscreen pairing led into an offscreen chapter. While she didn’t go into detail this time about their relationship, she did mention that the chemistry helped their performance and that being paired with someone who was going through it as well gave her stability.
In listening to her story, I was struck by how much of success is rooted in being vulnerable and open—even when you least expect it. Vanessa saying she thought he was cute sounds simple, but it encapsulates so much: youth, insecurity, hope, excitement. The kind of moment we’ve all had—“Oh, he’s cute, or she’s cute”—and then somewhere something shifts a little. For Vanessa, that moment aligned with her big break, her love of musical theatre, and her first major role.
When she said “the chemistry was so real,” I thought about how the way we look at someone, how we listen to someone, how we just are with someone in the same room, it all matters. Especially when you’re young and the whole world feels new. Vanessa’s reflection reminds me that sometimes the magic behind what we see on screen is just two people being human, open and honest.
Now, as Vanessa builds her life—married to Cole Tucker since 2023, expecting her second child, settling into a different rhythm—she’s allowed herself to look back, to honor that part of her journey without nostalgia being heavy. It’s more like gratitude. She’s grateful for the moments, grateful for the partnership, grateful for the dream she didn’t believe she’d get. And by telling this story, she invites us to remember that pairing, that audition, that youth, that spark.
If you loved HSM, this feels like a gift: hearing Vanessa say it was as real for her as it felt for us. And I can’t help but smile, remembering Gabriella and Troy on stage, remembering that first burst of dream-ful feeling. Because for all the big stars and big moments, sometimes it’s just two people singing together, thinking someone’s cute—and in that space being brave enough to say yes.
