Zac Efron says Leonardo DiCaprio taught him how to cope with fame.
The 32-year-old actor first met Leonardo back in 2008 when they sat next to each other at a Los Angeles Lakers game, and has said he visited the Hollywood star’s home the next day to have breakfast, where he learned some valuable tips on managing life in the spotlight.
Speaking about their initial meeting at the basketball game, Zac said: "I was just kind of going to wait for him [to talk] and sure enough he had his hat down low and then as soon as the ball went to the other side he was like, ‘Hey man, do you want to go get breakfast tomorrow?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, dude.’
"So he wrote his phone number down and handed it to me while the other team was scoring and nobody saw and I took it."
The ‘High School Musical’ star admits the food served the next day wasn’t great, but says he had a memorable conversation with Leonardo about "dealing with too much paparazzi presence".
He added: "He cooked waffles and then he burnt those and then we made pancakes. It was awesome. I had a billion questions for him at that point. Definitely dealing with too much paparazzi presence in my life. And sitting next to Leo I was just like, ‘Dude, how have you handled this for so long?’ And he was like, ‘Frankly, you’re getting it a little bit different.’ "
In total, 10 cars had followed Zac all the way to the ‘Titanic’ star’s house, and whilst Zac felt "anxiety" about the paparazzi, Leonardo made him realise he wasn’t alone.
Whilst taking part in ‘Hot Ones’ – the celebrity YouTube series where stars tuck into flaming hot spicy chicken wings whilst answering questions – he said: "He was like, ‘Yeah, there’s never this many cars here … That’s insane dude.’ And I saw in his eyes a little bit of the feeling that I consistently was having all the time, which was just stress and anxiety. And he was like, ‘Don’t worry about it, man. You’re good.’
"I really appreciate that he took that time. He made me feel good about it, helped me a little bit. That’s the biggest hand you can extend if you’re in Hollywood, looking out for somebody younger.
"So rock on, Leo. Thank you, buddy."
Zac Efron: Leonardo DiCaprio helped me cope with fame
