Skip to main content

Zac Efron Tears Up Moments Before Meeting Simone Biles: "I Totally Have Butterflies Right Now"



Zac Efron, Today, Olympics, Simone Biles, Watery Eyes
NBC News/TODAY
It was the meeting wanted 'round the world. 
On the beam, Simone Biles is a four-time Olympic medalist who has captivated international attention for her gymnastic prowess. Behind the scenes, she caught the eye of one major celebrity fan—Zac Efron. 
Months before the start of the 2016 Olympic Games, she appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show to confirm her secret crush on the Hollywood hunk. "Is it just 'cause he's gorgeous, is that why you like him?" Ellen DeGeneres asked. Her one-word answer? "Yes!" 
Her crush drew national attention as even NBC's Nightly News could not avoid the subject, airing footage of her personal life-size Efron cutout safely kept behind her childhood bed.  "Sometimes I used to kiss him on the cheek," Simone told NBC's Stephanie Gosk. Soon, the two were exchanging tweets, but from thousands of miles away. 
Finally, after weeks of mounting public anticipation, NBC secretly arranged for the two to meet face to face for the first time Tuesday night. 
"I totally have butterflies right now," Efron admitted to Hoda Kotb backstage while watching Biles perform her gold-winning routine in the floor exercises. In fact, the actor got teary-eyed as Simone was honored with her fourth Olympic medal and the National Anthem played out. "That's so good," he said under his breath. 
Zac Efron, Simone Biles
NBC News/TODAY
However, Biles gave Efron's reaction a run for its money when it ultimately came time for the grand surprise unveiling. While the 19-year-old has kept cool, calm and collected throughout the international competition, meeting the Neighbors star ignited quite a different response. 
"If you bring him out, I think I'm going to pass out,'' she warned Kotb before Efron entered the room. Queue the screaming! "I'm shaking," she said repeatedly, visibly elated and shocked. "He's even more gorgeous in person," teammate Laurie Hernandez whispered to Biles. 
"She's always super calm, by the way," teammate Aly Raisman told Efron. 
Rest assured, ladies—Efron was a bit nervous, too. ""They just got off the world's biggest stage, won gold medals. They've been crushing it the entire Olympics and I was hiding in the closet waiting to come in, so I didn't know what to think. I was kind of getting nervous myself," he told Kotb and Matt Lauer on Today.
As for planning the big surprise, the actor just didn't want to watch from the couch anymore. 
"When I found out Simone and this team were fans, I was like, 'What kind of guy am I if I don't show up?''' he told Kotb and Lauer. 
It's clear from the ladies' faces—they sure are glad he did. 

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jane the Virgin Season Finale Recap: The Wedding of Jane Gloriana Villanueva

Ivonne Coll as Alba, Gina Rodriquez as Jane, Andrea Navedo as Xo. If I could write this whole recap with emojis, there'd be several varieties of hearts, the running man, the dancing woman, and lots and lots of fires and heart-eyed faces. Those creepy dancing twin girls would also make an appearance. And there'd be a gun. My imaginary emoji recap is appealing because it's incredibly hard to come away from a blockbuster hour of television like "Chapter Forty-Four" and pull together coherent thoughts that aren't just "AHHH!" or "WHY would you get ICE for the DAMN CHAMPAGNE?!" or "OMG FACE OFF MASK!" or "Why isn't all of life just Jane and Rogelio doing that father/daughter dance forever?" But I'll give it a try. Jane the Virgin 's season finale is a narrative fireworks display, a shock-and-awe storytelling spectacular that short-circuits emotional processing centers with blazing confidence. It drops j...
Post a Comment
Read more

Who Is Zuleyka Rivera? 5 Things To Know About The ‘Despacito’ Actress

With ‘Despacito’ up for Record of the Year at the 2018 Grammy Awards, here’s everything you need to know about the music video’s actress — Zuleyka Rivera! 1. She’s a renowned beauty queen.  Not only did she claim the Miss Universe Puerto Rico title, Zuleyka eventually took the top prize and was later crowned Miss Universe in 2006. 2. After her huge Miss Universe win, she studied acting and eventually became a TV star.  She now lives in Miami where she’s frequently a special guest or a host on shows like  Un Nuevo Dia  on Telemundo and  Despierta America  on Univision. Before that, she became a breakout star by appearing on several Televisa soap operas in Mexico. 3. In addition to modeling, she also owns her own clothing line.  On top of running her own teen-ware clothing collection, she also has three fragrance lines called the Karisma, Zuleyka and Zuleyka 2010. If that wasn’t impressive enough, she also started an amazing swims...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Zipless, First-Person Violence of “Hardcore Henry”

The movie’s hyperkinetic action was shot using tiny GoPros. CREDIT STX ENTERTAINMENT / COURTESY EVERETT Raised from a watery chamber resembling a womb, Henry, a full-grown man, looks out on the world as if for the first time. Viewers see Henry’s world through his own eyes (which is how all of “Hardcore Henry” is made), and his prospects seem circumscribed. Henry finds himself in a hospital-like setting; he’s unable to speak, and he’s missing an arm and a leg. In short order, however, a medical professional named Estelle (Haley Bennett) fits him with high-tech prostheses, which she snaps into place, attaches to his body, and covers with a coating of his own skin. Henry is also suffering from memory loss, and Estelle reminds him of one detail: they’re husband and wife. When armed invaders breach the operating room, Henry discovers what Estelle already knew—that they’re someplace in the sky, inside an airplane—and husband and wife clamber through vents to reach a conveniently located ...
Post a Comment
Read more