His new flick 17 Again is number one at the US box office, with critics praising his performance, and his name’s now been linked to a number of high profile projects, including Pirates Of The Caribbean 4, and, until recently, the Footloose remake – so it’s pretty safe to say that ZAC EEFRON is riding high as Hollywood’s new golden boy.

With T-town on tenterhooks waiting to see what the 21-year-old is going to do next, Zac knows that one bad choice could bring his carefully managed career crashing down.

But instead of embracing his status as Lord Of The Tweens – and accepting the cheesy blockbuster roles and pin-up tag that goes with it – Zac’s determined to be taken seriously.

“Every film is a challenge. You have to acquire new skills. You have to put your a** out there. And that’s what I wanna do next,” he recently vowed.

Rejecting commercial roles, he’s attempting to endear himself to an older crowd by poking fun at his tween fans, and name-checking the greats like McQueen and De Niro. Ahlan! reveals the six signs Zac’s just a little too desperate to grow up...

The funny or die video
Zac filmed a skit for Will Ferrell’s hilarious website funnyordie.com, in which his celeb-packed barbeque is crashed by his embarrassing rellies – played by comedy heavyweights TOM LENNON and NICOLE SULLIVAN. Unforch, the vid was badly received by critics, who claimed Zac was too far outside of his comfort zone. One online commentator dubbed the skit, “Zacaroni and cheese,” while another blasted, “Please kill me!”

That sexy photoshoot
Snapped with bulging muscles, a mud-streaked face and with a naked model on top of him, Zac was clearly aiming for edgy with the steamy shoot he recently shot for Interview magazine, but doubtless Zac’s army of pre-teen admirers found the pics plain terrifying. However, Zac’s been unapologetic, insisting, “I’m growing up and that’s a part of life, that’s the way it is.”

Talking dirty
First, Zac and his girlfriend VANESSA were busted shopping for, ahem, ‘marital aids’ (“for a joke” apparently), and now, it seems he can’t stop talking about sex. “[My mum’s] like, ‘I knew you were being sexual!’ But she understood,” boasted Zac recently. “My stocking was full of condoms this Christmas. She buys me the economy box.”

Given rival ROBERT PATTINSON’s recent backhanded compliment that Zac’s “good at not offending anyone” – the 21-year-old is now desperate to dirty-up his image.

Sucking up to Leo
It’s no secret that Zac is an admirer of heartthrob turned Oscar-nominee LEO DiCaprio, with Zac heaping praise on his surrogate “big brother,” gushing, “He was... smart, level-headed, charming, hilarious.” But movie insiders are questioning if Zac can match up, with one critic sniping, “Efron hasn’t yet done much to suggest he wants to be, or can be, a more serious actor.”

Opting for theatre
Zac’s turned down the lead role in the Footloose remake and has hinted he’s going to do theatre instead.

“I’m sure Footloose would have been a huge challenge,” Zac explained. “But the actors that I love... are always shaking things up... That’s what’s always going to appeal to me: the unknown.”

Hosting SNL
Guest-hosting legendary US comedy show, Saturday Night Live, Zac poked fun at his loyal tween fan base in a bid to show he’s in-the-know about his cheesy image. “Hey tweens, Zac Efron here. I just wanted to take a moment to say ‘hi’ to you guys. And by guys, I mean girls,” he said. “Tweens, I owe you big time. If it weren’t for you, I’d just be some random college student instead of a college-aged man pretending to
be a high school student.”

Peer pressure: Zac’s competition

Chace Crawford
As Zac side-steps the heartthrob roles, Chace is only too willing to pick up the slack. Already being lined up for the Footloose job Zac rejected, Chace has managed to stay loyal (and relevant) to his Gossip Girl tween following.

Justin Timberlake
Cutting his acting teeth in the uber-cool flick Alpha Dog, JT’s rumoured to be competing with Zac for a role in upcoming flick Ohio. Has JT got the edge?

Robert Pattinson
Hogging the cool quotient of the teen hunk genre, thanks to his unconventional looks and the fact that Twilight is soooo much edgier than HSM – can Zac compete with Rob’s ready-made cred?