Zac Efron has wowed his fans by revealing a first look of himself in the role of Ted Bundy, one of America’s most notorious serial killers, for his new film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.

The 30 year old actor is continuing his dramatic departure from his innocent High School Musical days, branching out further than ever in his new leading role. On Wednesday night, he took to Twitter and Instagram to share images from the set of him as Bundy, the notorious serial killer who killed at least 30 women and girls in the 1970s.

“Meet Ted,” the actor captioned the picture, adding the hashtag: “behind the scenes”.

A post shared by Zac Efron (@zacefron) on

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is currently being filmed but does not have a release date, and is helmed by Oscar-winning documentary maker Joe Berlinger with a script from Michael Werwie. It tells the story from the perspective of Bundy’s long-time girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer (played by Lily Collins) who denied the accusations against Bundy for years before turning him in to the police.

Like her cast-mate, Collins also took to Instagram the same day as Efron to show a colour shot of her in character, writing ‘Meet Liz’ underneath it.

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After years of silence, Bundy eventually confessed to 30 homicides committed in seven different states between 1974 and 1978 – although the true number of his victims is still unknown and believed by many to be much higher. He was executed in January 1989.

Alongside Efron and Collins, veteran actor John Malkovich is portraying Edward Cowart, the judge who presided over the trial and imposed the death sentence.

The movie’s producer Michael Costigan said of Efron’s casting last year: “Zac is perfect… as he can play both the depth and the charm that this guy had in equal measures, and which allowed him to manipulate these women in such a terrifying way. We think in the vein of Nightcrawler or even The Jinx, we are making a psychological thriller that will resonate deeply with audiences.”

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