Vanessa Hudgens admitted her "real" chemistry with Zac Efron helped them in High School Musical

She told Bart Johnson's Get Your Head In The Game podcast: "Of course I was a child and paired with this boy and I was like, 'Oh my god, he's so cute.'

"The chemistry was so real."

She admitted when they filmed the original film's opening karaoke scene, the cute glances at him were "so real".

She added: "Yeah, it really does [help], especially when you're young and it's all sweet and innocent."

And while Vanessa - who reprised her role as Gabriella in a further two films in the franchise - admitted she was a perfect fit for her character, there was a time where she wanted to be seen as something different.

She explained: "It's so funny looking back, I was so innocent but I was also playing so innocent, so it was like the hat on the hat. Like, wow, she's really pure.

"That totally was who I was, but the little rebellious teen side of me was like, 'No, this isn't me!'"

Vanessa also recalled her audition for the film - where she remembered either singing Angels by Jessica Simpson of Reflection from Mulan - and she was paired "right away" with Zac during a group casting session.

She made it to the final callback, where there was another actor in the running for each of the lead roles.

She said: "There was one other girl there for Gabriella, one other guy there for Troy. We swapped, mixed and matched and yeah, that was it.

"Coming from a musical theater background, that was and still is where my heart remains. So, I was very excited."

Vanessa is currently pregnant with her second child with husband Cole Tucker, who she married in December 2023.