Zac Efron may have had a worse time during the holidays than you did: As per Australia’s Sunday Telegraph (as caught by The Cut), the actor and semi-recent Ted Bundy portrayer is reportedly stable after contracting a potentially life-threatening disease last week while filming a show called, of all things, Killing Zac Efron.
Details are currently skimpy, but it appears Efron came down with typhoid or a “similar bacterial infection” while on an “off-grid shoot” in Papa New Guinea. He was then airlifted to Brisbane in Australia, then rushed to St. Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital in the nearby suburb of Spring Hill. He recovered enough that he was allowed to fly back to Los Angeles on Christmas Eve, at which point he spent the remainder of the holidays undergoing treatment and convalescing.
So what is Killing Zac Efron, apart from maybe a too-literal documentary? As per E! News, it’s a Man vs. Wild-type show in which the High School Musical alum goes Bear Grylls, letting himself be dropped onto a remote island for 21 days, armed “with nothing but basic gear, a guide partner, and a will to survive” (and presumably a camera, or even a cameraperson).
“I tend to thrive under extreme circumstances and seek out opportunities that challenge me on every level,” Efron said in a statement when the show was announced in November. “I am excited to explore any uncharted territory and discover what unexpected adventure awaits.”
Anyway, Efron’s reportedly now recuperating from this episode. Get well.
Update: Efron has taken to Instagram to personally pass on the news that he’s well.
“I did get sick in Papua New Guinea but I bounced back quick and finished an amazing 3 weeks in P.N.G.,” Efron wrote. “I’m home for the holidays with my friends and family. Thanks for all the love and concern, see you in 2020!” So that’s nice!
(Via Sunday Telegraph and The Cut)
