Zac Efron Named ShoWest's 'Breakthrough Performer of the Year'

Variety reports that ShoWest has named Zac Efron as its 2009 breakthrough performer of the year.

Efron will be presented with the honor at ShoWest's Final Night Banquet and Award Ceremony on Thursday, April 2nd, at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas.

Zac Efron played the singing teen basketball star Troy Bolton in the hit TV movie High School Musical. Efron grew up in Southern California and began acting in his early teens, making his way into guest-starring roles on the TV shows E.R. and Firefly. He played an autistic twin in the made-for-cable movie Miracle Run (2004, with Aidan Quinn) and starred as a reluctant jockey in the formulaic racehorce flick The Derby Stallion in 2005. The same year he joined the cast of Summerland, as Cameron Bale and he became an instant hit with young female fans.

He took another heartfelt teen role in the 2006 Disney cable movie High School Musical (with Vanessa Anne Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale); the movie was a surprise hit and Efron starred in sequels in 2007 and 2008. He also played the role of Link Larkin in the 2007 big screen musical remake of John Waters's Hairspray starring John Travolta and Amanda Bynes. He will next be seen in the upcoming film "17".

ShoWest is the largest annual convention for the motion picture industry. It is the only international gathering devoted exclusively to the movie business and the single largest international gathering of motion picture professionals and theatre owners in the world. The 2009 edition of ShoWest will be held March 30 - April 2, 2009 at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas and is expected to draw more than 5,000 members of the motion picture industry. Each year, ShoWest attracts delegates from more than 50 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. ShoWest is produced by the Film Group at Nielsen Business Media, the leading trade show producer in the U.S. The Film Group also includes ShowEast, CineAsia, Cinema Expo International and Film Journal International. Nielsen Business Media also produces the Film Group's sister publication, The Hollywood Reporter.

Photo Credit: Sarah DeBoer/Retna Ltd.