He sang and danced his way into the hearts of millions of tween-age girls in Disney’s High School Musical franchise, but these days Zac Efron is taking on some legitimately juicy film roles. The young actor has definitely emerged as one of Hollywood’s newest leading men, and has proven in films like Me and Orson Welles that he is much more than just another pretty face. In his latest movie, Charlie St. Cloud, Efron plays a young man overcome by grief at the death of his younger brother. So much that he takes a job as caretaker of the cemetery in which his brother is buried. Charlie has a special lasting bond with his brother though, that cannot be broken even in death. Then, a girl comes into Charlie’s life and he must choose between keeping a promise he made to his brother, or going after the girl he loves. I talked with Efron about the film and about the power of love.

You play the title role in the film, Charlie St. Cloud, and your life is devastated by the death of your younger brother. Can you explain the relationship shared by the two characters?
Charlie is more than an older brother to Sam. He’s almost like a father figure, a mentor. He takes good care of him. He’s trying to groom a strong younger brother and make him a kid who can fight for himself and stand up for himself in a world where opportunities aren’t handed to you.

There is some pretty heavy subject matter in this film. What attracted you to the project?
The story is very different. It’s not like anything I’ve ever done before. It was a lot more dramatic, a lot more serious, more adventurous, I think. It was also very real and emotional and that was incredibly exciting.

You make a promise to your brother that you keep for many years. Then of course comes the girl. How does that relationship change the dynamic of your character’s relationship with Sam?
It’s too much. He tries to get away from her as much as possible and shut her out of his mind but he can’t. It gets completely out of hand and it’s uncontrollable, I guess that’s love.

I don’t think you can take on a role like this and not be affected on a number of levels. What was the best part of this experience for you as an actor?
The coolest part of the movie for me was connecting with the character on a whole different level. It was fun stepping into Charlie’s shoes and playing a guy who’s down and out and down on his luck and doesn’t really have much to live for and who is numb. That was interesting for me. I tend to play characters who are more energetic and full of life.

Charlie St. Cloud opens nationwide this week. The movie is rated PG-13 for language including some sexual references, an intense accident scene and some sensuality. For all of this week’s new releases and more of your favorite celebs, check out my show Reel Critics on Time Warner Cable Video on Demand under the North Texas programming tab!