Zac Efron caused a social media frenzy amongst his fans when he debuted bleached blonde hair earlier this year. The actor's 90s-style frosted tips soon saw him compared by many to Mark Paul Gosselaar's Saved by the Bell character Zack Morris, who had a similar hairstyle.
Zac Efron has been compared to the Saved by the Bell character
Now, the 28-year-old has revealed that he finds the comparisons to be flattering, describing the iconic TV character as "my hero".
The actor also revealed that he initially dyed his hair for his role in upcoming film Baywatch, but that he ended up keeping the colour longer than planned when he thought he would need to re-shoot some scenes post-production.
"I thought I had additional photography in the next upcoming weeks so I just kind of kept it," he told Entertainment Tonight. "And I just talked to the producers and they said that I don't have to reshoot anything for about like a year, so I've just been having it for no reason."
The actor debuted his new 'do during a visit to a pre-school
Zac first unveiled his new haircut when he posted photos from his visit to a pre-school, in which he was spotted with the bleached look for the first time.
GALLERY: CELEBRITIES WHO UPPED THEIR FITNESS GAME FOR A FILM
It's been a busy few months for the star, who has not only been promoting his new film Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, but has been hard at work filming Baywatch, in which he stars opposite Dwayne Johnson.
To get in shape for the role, Zac seriously upped his training and exercise routine, and set pulses racing when he unveiled his muscular physique on set.
Zac followed an impressive training regime to get in shape for Baywatch
The High School Musical star has previously given his 16.7 million Instagram followers a glimpse into his gruelling routine, which includes tough exercises such as tyre flipping. In one photo's caption, Zac confessed he had undergone "months and months of training for this moment" as he kicked off filming.
The actor also took to Twitter to share his strict healthy diet, admitting he had undergone a sugar and carbohydrate detox. "9 days of absolutely zero carbs & sugar. Only organic grass fed/free range protein and organic leafy greens," he wrote, before adding that "this lead to" a cheat day with an impressive menu. "Devoured a steak, 4 side potatoes/veggies, macncheese, 3 desserts, bread/butter, brick o cheese & caviar," he wrote.