Movies - TV
Yes, That Is A Baby Zac Efron Making His TV Debut In Firefly
By VALERIE ETTENHOFER
Among the crew members of the short-lived series “Firefly,” the Tam siblings were integral to the overarching plot and to its follow-up film "Serenity." Traumatized, superpowered genius River is protected by her surgeon brother Simon, and the pair take refuge on the Serenity while on the run from the government.
In Episode 5, Simon and River's early years are finally revealed via flashback, and the episode opens on a now-familiar face — Zac Efron. An unknown actor when the series aired in 2002, Efron has just a few lines in this brief scene as a teenaged Simon, attempting to do homework while fending off his sister’s interruptions.
Freshly 15 years old at the time the episode aired, Efron actually made his on-screen debut with this role, a full four years before he would break through as Troy Bolton in "High School Musical." Efron isn't exactly a breakout star here, but he's still well-cast as a younger version of Maher.