Long before they filmed their Ted Bundy flick Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile, Efron and the 31-year-old Brit enjoyed a largely unconfirmed romance, spotted on a series of dates in 2012 and 2013 including an outing to Disneyland that saw the pair walking hand-in-hand. (As one does in the happiest place on earth.) Though the chemistry ultimately fizzled, their friendship remained, thankfully making it not awkward at all for them to play at being lovers in the Netflix biopic.
“I used to do reporting for Nickelodeon, so I literally interviewed him at an orange carpet event years ago,” Collins told E! News of filming alongside Efron. “We’ve been friends ever since, so we finally got to work together.”
In fact, Efron credits the actress, who stars as Bundy’s longtime girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer, with boosting his portrayal of the psychopathic serial killer. ”I remember a few days into filming, I just came to work to watch on set because [Lily] was having scenes with Haley Joel Osment, and I was watching her performance and I was blown away,” Efron recalled to E! News. “She was bringing it, and this was, like, the fourth of fifth day of filming. I was like, I really need to step up my game. Lily is killing it.”