ANYONE who has a girl in the house, usually under 10, will know just what High School Musical heartthrob Zac Efron means to them.
One of biggest male stars in America is squeaky clean, has boyish good looks and dazzling blue eyes, which make the girls go weak at the knees.
And while he wants to prove his worth as a serious actor, for the moment, with the third High School Musical film about to be released later this month, he is still a first crush poster boy.
Zac, who turns 21 in just over a fortnight, is mobbed wherever he goes - even on the Isle of Man when he was filming earlier this year, but he seems to be managing worldwide fame.
"Every once in a while I get a great big hug and a kiss from someone I don't know," said Zac. "It's hard to have a normal life because I get recognised.
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"If I have any influence on kids, hopefully it is through my work rather than my private life. I prefer to keep personal stuff out of it.
"I don't want to cross that line into celebrity. That's when things start to get really crazy."
However, the trouble for Zac is that as well as being the star of a huge television and film franchise, he is also dating co-stars Vanessa Hudgens, 19, who plays class swot Gabriella Montez, the love interest of his character Troy Bolton.
Like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' Tom Kat, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's Brangelina, Zac and Vanessa are known in Hollywood as Zanessa.
The young actor shrugs: "Well all I can do is laugh about it."
But other than that, Zac keeps details of his romance with Vanessa to himself, saying only that she is a "great girl".
In fact, Vanessa's career was almost over before it began when nude pictures - taken on her mobile phone and meant only for Zac - surfaced on the internet before the first High School Musical movie.
Since then, she has been voted number 12 in the Maxim Hot 100, and Zac is proud of her.
He said: "I wasn't like 'I don't want anyone looking at her.'
"No, I was proud. She deserves it."
Although instant fame has given them their own super couple name and fame beyond their wildest dreams, Zac claims the pair hit it off right from the start.
He said: "We have been working together since the beginning of the audition process.
"We immediately started having fun. At the first audition. We knew we had a slim shot of getting in, so we just went in there and had fun and gave it all we could.
"At the end of the day, our head shots were still together and we are still performing now."
High School Musical first hit screens in 2006 on the Disney Channel and became the most successful movie ever shown - the premiere was watched by 7.7 million viewers.
Zac admits his life changed overnight.
He said: "It was crazy. The first movie had just been released and I went into Tower Records in LA.
"It was an unrelated autograph signing and there were lots of kids about.
"I walked in and the whole room went silent. I looked around and everyone was pointing at me. I had to back up and run to my car. It was just crazy."
In the UK, the film - based on Romeo & Juliet - took longer to take hold, with 789,000 watching the premiere. Since then, it has been shown on the BBC and has become a favourite for young British girls.
Now, along with singing the film's songs such as Breaking Free, youngsters can also buy a whole range of High School Musical merchandise, including pyjamas, T-shirts, hair dryers and video games.
The original film won an Emmy for Outstanding Choreography, while the soundtrack went on to become America's Soundtrack Album of the Year in 2006.
Last year the television sequel, High School Musical 2, was released. The premiere was watched by 17.3 million people in the US, making it the highest-rated cable broadcast in American television history.
The soundtrack from the second film won the Best Soundtrack Album at last year's annual American Music Awards.
This month's £7million High School Musical 3: Senior Year, will be the first of the franchise to be shown first in cinemas.
It opens on October 22, four days after Zac's 21st birthday, and the actor admits the timing is perfect.
He will be in London on Tuesday for the premiere of the film, but some lucky Scots will get a chance to be part of the fun at a special regional premiere at Cineworld on Renfrew Street, Glasgow, on the same night.
Alot of actors say they can't watch themselves because of the size of the big screen and Zac can see why.
He giggled: "Yeah, I can relate to that completely. It is really tough to watch yourself.
"You watch your face and all you see is all the little quirks you have and all the funny things you do. You don't really see a character. You see right through it because you made it.
"But you just have to take deep breaths and take it for what it is."
While he might not like seeing his face up on the big screen, Zac admits he regularly searches for his name online.
He said: "I like to read the blogs. I love the discussions online. They are hilarious."
By checking out internet forums, Zac will realise how big a star he is becoming.
And while there is no word on whether he'll be in the fourth High School Musical film, especially as the kids graduate in the new film, Zac is a busy boy. As well as are make of Footloose, the actor will show he's not just a pretty face with Me and Orson Welles, which was shot on the Isle of Man as well as London and New York, earlier this year.
The film casts Zac as a teenager who is hired to star in Orson Welles' production of Julius Caesar, and becomes attracted to a career-driven production assistant, played by Claire Danes.
Zac said: "I had experience of being in a play when I was a kid, and there's no feeling like it.
"Portraying that in a film is surreal. When you are in a play and you forget your lines, the director comes down on you really hard."
With a knowing wink about his own romance he added: "And finding romance during a play, that happens."
High School Musical 3: Senior Year is released on October 22
