Today in "news I'm feeling very conflicted about," I just learned that Zac Efron almost nabbed the starring role [1] in The Perfect Date [2] — y'know, the role that was ultimately portrayed by Netflix's favourite heartthrob, Noah Centineo. On one hand, I couldn't imagine a more perfect Brooks Rattigan than Centineo, as his chemistry with costar Laura Marano is impossibly palpable [3]. But at the same time, Efron is my OG onscreen crush, and I can't help but wonder what could have been if he were in Brooks's shoes, acting as a stand-in date for various girls to rake in college tuition money.
Technically, Efron was attached to the rom-com years ago, far before it was even titled The Perfect Date. Based on a book called The Stand-In by Steve Bloom, the story was initially penned about 12 years ago as a screenplay, which was ultimately adapted into a book after making its rounds in Hollywood without getting picked up. "Although a succession of fairly big name actors and directors — including Zac Efron [5], Shia LaBeouf [6] and Garry Marshall — were attached to the script over the years, it never quite got over the hump and got made," Bloom told MassLive in an interview back in 2016 [7].
No matter how smouldering Centineo may have looked in Netflix's adaptation of the narrative, I can't help but sit here and swoon at the thought of post-High School Musical [8] Efron nailing it as Brooks, in all his mid-2000s, side-swooped-hair glory. Who's with me?