Zac Efron claims it was 'impossible to separate himself' from the role of serial killer Ted Bundy while filming Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
Zac Efron has revealed he found it 'impossible' to detach himself from the role of serial killer Ted Bundy, while shooting his latest film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.
The actor was asked at the London premiere of the harrowing movie - which charts the murderous ways of one of America's most disturbing criminals - about the methods he used to keep the character separate from his home life.
But Zac claimed that doing that was no easy feat.
![Murder in mind: Zac Efron has revealed he found it 'impossible' to detach himself from the role of serial killer Ted Bundy, while shooting his latest film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile](http://web.archive.org./web/20190425034517/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/24/21/12676330-6956641-image-a-55_1556136349852.jpg)
Murder in mind: Zac Efron has revealed he found it 'impossible' to detach himself from the role of serial killer Ted Bundy, while shooting his latest film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
'I’ve never played a role in which I really have to separate myself from when I go home at night and it was almost impossible,' he said. 'I’d like to say that I did it successfully but I couldn’t.
'I really wasn’t interested in playing a serial killer, I’m not in the business of glamorising a horrendous person or his acts, but there is something unique about the way we went into the psyche of Ted, and his longtime girlfriend Liz [played by Lily Collins].
'It’s a different perspective and not your run-of-the-mill serial killer cliché, body count gets higher and higher and oh the guy you always knew did it, did it.
'This is what it was like to be there on the day, we didn’t know if he was innocent or guilty, we just saw Ted Bundy through their eyes.'
![Inside his head: 'I’ve never played a role in which I really have to separate myself from when I go home at night and it was almost impossible,' Zac said](http://web.archive.org./web/20190425034517/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/24/21/12676828-6956641-image-a-56_1556136371225.jpg)
Inside his head: 'I’ve never played a role in which I really have to separate myself from when I go home at night and it was almost impossible,' Zac said
![Detached: The actor was asked at the London premiere of the harrowing movie - which charts the murderous ways of one of America's most disturbing criminals - about the methods he used to keep the character separate from his home life](http://web.archive.org./web/20190425034517/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/24/21/12676384-6956641-image-a-57_1556136402323.jpg)
Detached: The actor was asked at the London premiere of the harrowing movie - which charts the murderous ways of one of America's most disturbing criminals - about the methods he used to keep the character separate from his home life
![Ingrained: 'I’ve never played a role in which I really have to separate myself from when I go home at night and it was almost impossible,' Zac said. 'I’d like to say that I did it successfully but I couldn’t'](http://web.archive.org./web/20190425034517/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/24/21/12676442-6956641-image-m-64_1556136739325.jpg)
Ingrained: 'I’ve never played a role in which I really have to separate myself from when I go home at night and it was almost impossible,' Zac said. 'I’d like to say that I did it successfully but I couldn’t'
Director of the film, Joe Berlinger, revealed Zac was tentative about taking on such a role.
'It’s a dark subject matter,' he said. 'It’s a kind of cliché where you take someone who was seen as a teen idol, a teen star, and you put him a dark role. So he wanted to make sure that it wasn’t gratuitous.
'We had a very good conversation about what I wanted to do, which is to send a message out to his fans, to his demographic, there’s a certain group of people for whom Zac can do no wrong, because of how he looks, because of how he acts.
![Killer instinct: 'There is something unique about the way we went into the psyche of Ted, and his longtime girlfriend Liz [played by Lily Collins, pictured],' Zac said](http://web.archive.org./web/20190425034517/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/24/21/12676416-6956641-image-a-58_1556136441634.jpg)
Killer instinct: 'There is something unique about the way we went into the psyche of Ted, and his longtime girlfriend Liz [played by Lily Collins, pictured],' Zac said
![Into the darkness: Director of the film, Joe Berlinger, revealed Zac was tentative about taking on such a role](http://web.archive.org./web/20190425034517/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/24/21/12676994-6956641-image-a-60_1556136528349.jpg)
Into the darkness: Director of the film, Joe Berlinger, revealed Zac was tentative about taking on such a role
![Stars: Joe, Lily Collins and Zac at Wednesday night's Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile European Premiere held at the Curzon Mayfair, London](http://web.archive.org./web/20190425034517/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/24/21/12676990-6956641-image-a-59_1556136525476.jpg)
Stars: Joe, Lily Collins and Zac at Wednesday night's Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile European Premiere held at the Curzon Mayfair, London
'He’s a wonderful guy, but nobody really knows who he is in real life, and that’s the hold Bundy had over people, because he was charming, because he was good looking he was able to manipulate his victims, he was able to lead them to their death.
'He was able to manipulate the American media that made him into a hero, and a perverse kind of folk hero. He was able to manipulate the criminal justice system, so casting somebody like Zac was the perfect way for me as a documentarian who looks for something real to bring into the movie.
'Now if he didn’t have the acting chops you could say that it was a stunt, but he has amazing acting skills and he did such a fantastic job.'
![Charm offensive: 'He’s a wonderful guy, but nobody really knows who he is in real life, and that’s the hold Bundy had over people, because he was charming, because he was good looking he was able to manipulate his victims, he was able to lead them to their death,' Joe said](http://web.archive.org./web/20190425034517/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/24/21/12676470-6956641-image-a-63_1556136703286.jpg)
Charm offensive: 'He’s a wonderful guy, but nobody really knows who he is in real life, and that’s the hold Bundy had over people, because he was charming, because he was good looking he was able to manipulate his victims, he was able to lead them to their death,' Joe said
![Killer smile: '[Bundy] was able to manipulate the criminal justice system, so casting somebody like Zac was the perfect way for me as a documentarian who looks for something real to bring into the movie,' added Joe](http://web.archive.org./web/20190425034517/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/25/00/12676456-6956641-Killer_smile_Bundy_was_able_to_manipulate_the_criminal_justice_s-a-1_1556150275776.jpg)
Killer smile: '[Bundy] was able to manipulate the criminal justice system, so casting somebody like Zac was the perfect way for me as a documentarian who looks for something real to bring into the movie,' added Joe
The director has been accused of glamorising Bundy, for which he has defended himself.
He added: 'The conversation generally is true crime exploitative, is it unfair to the victim, are we glamorising it? That’s good and healthy, but a lot of it was a knee jerk reaction.
'I don’t think anyone who has seen the movie can say that it’s glamorising, by the end of the movie he’s alone on death row, the one person he cares about has rejected him and knows the truth.
![Time to go: Zac looked pleased with the film's reception as he left the screening](http://web.archive.org./web/20190425034517/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/24/21/12677046-6956641-image-a-68_1556137011791.jpg)
Time to go: Zac looked pleased with the film's reception as he left the screening
![High praise: 'Now if he didn’t have the acting chops you could say that it was a stunt, but he has amazing acting skills and he did such a fantastic job,' Joe said](http://web.archive.org./web/20190425034517/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/25/00/12677042-6956641-High_praise_Now_if_he_didn_t_have_the_acting_chops_you_could_say-a-2_1556150275800.jpg)
![High praise: 'Now if he didn’t have the acting chops you could say that it was a stunt, but he has amazing acting skills and he did such a fantastic job,' Joe said](http://web.archive.org./web/20190425034517/https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/24/21/12677044-6956641-image-a-70_1556137024286.jpg)
High praise: 'Now if he didn’t have the acting chops you could say that it was a stunt, but he has amazing acting skills and he did such a fantastic job,' Joe said
'We see him as needy, and the terrible human being that he was. We’re not glamorising him, we’re arming a new generation with new information that just because a person looks and acts a certain way doesn’t mean they’re good, and I think in this era of internet cat-fishing and we all curate a kind of glamorised version of our lives on Instagram.
'Even the best of us, even when we have the best of intentions, we present a false image to the public and there are some people who do that who have very nefarious intent.
'Recently a young woman was killed by a fake Uber driver, so that’s somebody pretending to be somebody they’re not. So for the generation of young women and men who love Zac, including my two daughters who are college age young women who never heard of Bundy, I’m very proud to put out a message of the dangers of liking somebody because they’re attractive, and trusting somebody because of that.'
Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil and Vile premieres in the US on Netflix and in select theaters on May 3. It will be available in UK cinemas and on Sky Cinema from May 3.