What The Cast Of High School Musical Is Doing Today

On January 20, 2006, the Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) "High School Musical" premiered, launching the Mouse House's cable network into the stratosphere. The teen musical, affectionately referred to by fans as "HSM," entrenched itself into the hearts of adolescents worldwide. It was a pop culture phenomenon — both because of its perfect casting and catchy music. 

The soundtrack for the first film reached No. 1 on Billboard, and the climactic duet "Breaking Free" peaked at No. 4 on the chart as well. It is the most successful film franchise of all time on Disney Channel: The first film broke the channel's viewership record with seven million viewers, only to break its own record with "High School Musical 2" the following year with 17 million views. Its popularity led the third film to a wide theatrical release.

More than just great songs, "HSM" introduced audiences to a host of talented actors. Zac Efron is the biggest, but others in the cast like Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and Lucas Grabeel were able to carve out successful careers beyond the brand. The series continued to create new stars with "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series." It's wild to consider that without "HSM," the world may not know Olivia Rodrigo, who played Nini Salazar-Roberts on the show. The original cast embraced the series too, as half of the actors on this list have appeared on the TV show at least once. Here's what the cast of "High School Musical" is doing today.

The shining star of "HSM," Zac Efron has undoubtedly seen the most mainstream success and longevity since the franchise ended. In fact, he hit it big in Hollywood before the series even finished, starring in the 2007 remake of "Hairspray" as Link Larkin.

In the early 2010s, he had lead roles in "Charlie St. Cloud," "New Year's Eve," and "The Lorax," but faced some personal issues during this time. He voluntarily went to rehab in 2013, attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and went to therapy after getting clean. Later that same year, he broke his jaw in a freak accident and had to undergo reconstructive surgery, later revealing that he almost died due to the injury.

Somehow, Efron kept working in the years afterward. He starred in numerous comedies for the remainder of the 2010s including "Neighbors," "Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates," "Baywatch," and "The Disaster Artist." He's had steady work in the 2020s, and wowed audiences with his dramatic range in the 2023 film "The Iron Claw." An emotionally devastating wrestling biopic, Efron carried the cast even with talented co-stars like Jeremy Allen White and Lily James. He also turned heads with his performance opposite Nicole Kidman in the 2024 Netflix romcom "A Family Affair." As of early 2026, he has three films currently in production.

Vanessa Hudgens might not have reached prestige drama status as Efron has, but one thing about her — she's kept a job since "HSM." First, she starred alongside fellow Disney alum Aly Michalka in the romcom "Bandslam" in 2009. In 2011, she starred in an ensemble cast of Emily Browning, Carla Gugino, and Oscar Isaac with "Sucker Punch." Though not critically embraced upon release, the Zack Snyder action-fantasy is on its way to cult classic status. In the 2020s, she's become a Netflix darling, playing lead actress in "The Knight Before Christmas," "The Princess Switch," and its two sequels. Of those four films, she's produced three.

Hudgens has taken many side quests to her consistent TV and film work. She's been a judge on the dance competition show "So You Think You Can Dance." She walked in the "Savage X Fenty Fashion Show Vol. 3." In 2022, she hosted the MTV Movie & TV Awards and the Met Gala. Through it all, she has dipped in and out of theater work, starring most notably in "Rent." Hudgens also won "The Masked Singer" in 2024.

In the last five years, she's hitched herself to the "Bad Boys" franchise, first appearing in the 2020 revival "Bad Boys for Life" as weapons expert Kelly. Most recently in 2024, "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" did blowout numbers at the box office, so it's unlikely she'd leave the series anytime soon.

Ashley Tisdale might just be one of the most underrated Disney girls of the 2000s. She sang and danced her way into the hearts of millions as Sharpay in "High School Musical," and she was an integral part to not one but two of the best Disney shows of the 2000s: "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" and "Phineas and Ferb." The latter is where most of Tisdale's continued success after "HSM" stems from. As Candace Flynn, the nosy older sister to Phineas Flynn, she had steady work with the series until its original end in 2015. The series came back in 2025 on Disney+. She has been a part of all three television specials and both movies, the most recent of which debuted in 2020 on the streamer as well.

She was the subject of a 2011 direct-to-DVD spinoff in the "HSM" universe, "Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure," before shedding the franchise for good. In 2013, she had the lead role in "Scary Movie 5" along with Simon Rex, Charlie Sheen, and Lindsay Lohan, among others. Most of her work has been on television, making guest appearances on the likes of "Sons of Anarchy," "Young and Hungry" and "American Dad."

Outside of her current work with "Phineas and Ferb," Tisdale recently made headlines with an editorial she wrote for The Cut about her experience with a "toxic" group of mothers, including fellow Disney alum Hilary Duff. It was controversially received, to say the least.

Sharpay's equally jazzy twin brother Ryan Evans was played by Lucas Grabeel. Before joining the hallowed halls of the East High theater, Grabeel was Ethan "the Warlock" Dalloway in "Halloweentown High" (2004) and "Return to Halloweentown" (2006). After his "HSM" graduation, he played Ryan one last time in the aforementioned spinoff "Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure." Not long after that year, he became one of the leads on "Switched at Birth," an ABC Family (now Freeform) drama, Toby Kennish. The series was one of the most successful ABC Family teen dramas in the 2010s, and is historically significant due to its inclusion of multiple Deaf or hard-of-hearing actors who used American Sign Language. It was also critically beloved.

Throughout the 2010s, Grabeel shifted his focus to voice acting. He provided voices for supporting characters in the TV shows "Sheriff Callie's Wild West," "Elena of Avalor," "Spirit Riding Free," and even "Phineas and Ferb" along his former co-star Ashley Tisdale. In 2019, he voiced the titular character in "Pinky Malinky," an animation collaboration between Nickelodeon and Netflix that had 60 short episodes. Most recently in 2023, Grabeel did voice work for the Adult Swim series "My Adventures with Superman" on Cartoon Network. He was the first iteration of the villain Mist, Kyle.

With a signature head of curls, Corbin Bleu was an integral part of the franchise despite playing second fiddle to Zac Efron as Chad Danforth, Troy's jock-minded best friend and teammate. Bleu certainly made the most of his prime years in the spotlight. Not only did he get his own DCOM with "Jump In!" in 2007, but also starred in an entirely separate Discovery Kids series called "Flight 29 Down" from 2005 to 2007.

Upon hanging his Wildcat jersey in the rafters, he had a main role in the short-lived Ashton Kutcher teen drama "The Beautiful Life" on The CW in 2009. Bleu continued working after the show's cancellation, appearing on TV shows like "The Good Wife," "Psych," and "Chicago Med." He reentered the public eye in a big way in 2013 when he competed on Season 17 of "Dancing with the Stars." He finished second to former "Glee" star Amber Riley.

Yet Bleu's true calling might actually be the stage — the perfect place to combine his acting, singing, and dancing talent. He began his theater career in 2010 with a marquee role as Usnavi de la Vega in "In the Heights." The following year, he followed in Zac Efron's footsteps and joined the cast of "Hairspray" as Seaweed J. Stubbs. He has kept his momentum ever since, starring in classics like "Mamma Mia!," "Singin' in the Rain," "Mary Poppins," and "Little Shop of Horrors" alongside drag superstar Jinkx Monsoon. He's currently playing Nick Carraway In "The Great Gatsby" on London's West End.

Taylor McKessie was Gabriella's best friend in the series played by Monique Coleman. The actress's career picked up steam in 2004, with several appearances across TV including "Strong Medicine," "Gilmore Girls," "Malcolm in the Middle," and a recurring role on "Boston Public." Believe it or not, she was also a contestant on Season 3 of "Dancing with the Stars" the same year "HSM" debuted.

Post-2008, Coleman had recurring roles on the sitcom "Here We Go Again" and teen web series "Guidance." Since 2019, she has mostly appeared in TV movies, many of which are streaming on Tubi right now. Outside of acting, Coleman went viral in 2024 due to an interview she did with fellow Disney alum Alyson Stoner (of "Camp Rock" fame). In the interview with YouTube channel The Skin Deep, Coleman detailed how Stoner was supportive of her when she left her husband of 10 years. If nothing else, it appears that the actress is rich in life because of this loving friendship.

Kelsi was the music composer of East High, quiet as a mouse but secretly talented, played by Olesya Rulin. "High School Musical" was one of Rulin's first acting roles, though she had appeared on Disney Channel before. Like Lucas Grabeel, Rulin appeared in "Halloweentown High" as a pink troll named Natalie. After the third "HSM," she starred in a handful of indie films in the late 2000s and early 2010s, including a starring role in "Expecting Mary."

She found more success in the 2010s on television. She had a recurring role in the ABC Family series "Greek" as Abby from 2009 to 2011. She also appeared on multiple crime procedurals including "CSI: Miami," "The Mentalist," and "NCIS," as did many other massive Hollywood stars. In recent years, she had a five-episode stint as Zasha Gagrin in "NCIS: Los Angeles" from 2020 to 2022, and a one-time appearance on "The Rookie" in 2022.

Alyson Reed was perfectly cast as Ms. Darbus, the eccentric director of East High's drama department. Decades before Disney, Reed was a mainstay on Broadway in the 1970s. She appeared in American theater classics like "Dancin'," "Cabaret," and "Marilyn: An American Fable." She took her stage talents to the big screen in 1985 by starring opposite Michael Douglas in the film adaptation of "A Chorus Line."

She started her television career in the 1990s, doing character work in shows such as "Matlock," "Frasier," "Ghostwriter," and a recurring part in "Party of Five." After "HSM," Reed made a surprising pivot to TV dramas, appearing on the likes of "Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy," "Mad Men," and "Bones" in the 2010s.

More recently, she had a minor role in the Brad Pitt sci-fi drama "Ad Astra" in 2019. In 2023, she returned to the "HSM" franchise as herself and Ms. Darbus in "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series."

KayCee Stroh was a ray of sunshine as part-brainiac, part-hip-hop dancer Martha Cox in the series. After the final film, Stroh wound down her acting career for the most part. She got married in 2009 and had kids in the years afterward. She participated in the weight loss competition show "Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp 2" on VH1 in 2010 alongside Kevin Federline and Bobby Brown, among others.

She had single-episode roles in "The League" (2010) and "Andi Mack" (2018). In 2019, she appeared in "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series." She came back to East High as a fictionalized version of herself. Her last screen appearance was in 2020 in "The Disney Family Singalong" special. Today, Stroh has leaned exclusively into her dance background. She is very active on TikTok, where her 3.3 million followers enjoy her dancing videos.