Zac Efron Said He ‘Started Crying,’ When He Spoke To Michael Jackson

The release of Michael Jackson’s posthumous album, Xscape, has brought back a memory for Zac Efron. According to ABC 15, Efron never got to meet the King of Pop in person, but the two did share a phone conversation.

Efron remembers being at dinner with the cast of High School Musical 3, when Jackson’s friend, director Kenny Ortega, came in and told him that there was someone on the phone for him. Ortega handed Efron the phone, and when he discovered who was on the other end, that’s when things started getting emotional.

“I just started crying,” Efron said. “I don’t know what to say, my mouth won’t work… I’m just going, ‘I have so much I wanna say (to you). You’re the reason…’ and I start crying.”

Zac Efron said Jackson thanked him for the kind words, but it ended up being a “short conversation,” since Efron couldn’t control himself.

“I hang up and handed the phone back to Kenny,” Efron said. “Kenny’s like: ‘Wow, you messed that up’.”

But Zac got another opportunity to speak to Jackson just a short while later. The King of Pop called again, and was wondering if he was actually speaking to the same Zac Efron. This is how Efron recalled the situation:

“He goes, ‘Wait, is this Zac?’ and I go, ‘Yeah!’ and he goes, ‘Zac, hi, I didn’t know who I was talking to’. I go, ‘You know who I am?’ and he goes, ‘Yes, I love you’. And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, don’t say that to me…! You’re the reason I’m in music, you’re the reason I do what I do, you’ve been the inspiration to me since I was a little boy… I love you’, and I started crying again.”

Efron then said that he had to “leave the room,” because he kept on crying, and Jackson was crying, too. When things settled down, Jackson told Zac something he said he “will never forget.”

“He said, ‘See, Zac, dreams really do come true,'” Efron recalled.

Zac Efron also revealed that, in his early acting years, he used to listen to Michael Jackson when he would drive to auditions, and he was one of the first people to pick up a copy of Xscape, when it released on Tuesday.

Back in February, Zac showed off his moonwalk skills on his Instagram account, according to WetPaint. And he revealed to Jimmy Kimmel that he keeps the voicemails from Michael Jackson and others he has admired on his phone.

“My most cherished is Michael Jackson,” Efron said.

[Image credited to Robyn Beck via PopSugar]