It’s official, Zac Efron plans to build his forever home near Byron Bay in Australia. Like Chris Hemsworth, Efron left L.A. to live in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he has been back and forth ever since, filming projects like Down To Earth With Zac Efron and Gold. Now he has plans to build a home from the ground up, and it’s coming with one surprising feature.
Zac Efron is once again taking it upon himself to lead by example when it comes to climate friendly practices, and this new house might just be his biggest investment yet. The Firestarter actor has enlisted the help of environmental activist Joost Bakker. According to Bakker's Instagram, the two plan to build Efron’s home out of mainly hemp plant and oyster shells. Yes, I’m completely serious. Take a look:
In 2020, The Iron Claw actor sold his L.A. home and bought the property near Byron Bay. While he was seemingly enjoying van life for a while, Efron is apparently ready to set down permanent roots, literally. Bakker told The Sydney Morning Herald that nearly everything from the internal walls, insulation, rugs and curtains, to even Efron’s mattresses, will be primarily made out of the cannabis plant. This gives a whole new meaning to living the high life.
The question you might be asking is, why hemp? For starters, the Greatest Showman actor told the Australian environmentalist he wanted the “most healthy home on the planet,” and industrial hemp happens to be a fast-growing, carbon neutral plant to produce. For Efron’s “greenhouse,” they are taking things a step further, using oyster shells instead of lime to bind the hemp bricks, cutting out the need to mine materials.
Since the hemp laws in Australia were changed in 2017 to allow the growth of industrial hemp, the Greenhouse By Joost docu-subject has become a leading expert and architect on building with the cannabis plant. Bakkar’s own self-sustaining, zero waste home was featured in Season 2, Episode 4 of Efron’s docuseries Down To Earth, which is presumably where the A Family Affair actor first planted the idea to create his own sustainable residence with Bakker’s help.
Down To Earth’s two seasons, which are available to stream with a Netflix subscription, follow the High School Musical actor and superfood expert Darin Olien as they travel the globe in search of healthier and more eco-friendly ways to live. The second season, titled "Down Under," focused on Australia, the place Efron had been spending most of his time when he wasn’t working on film sets.
If this hasn’t already been pitched to Netflix, I think a docu-crew following the process of making Efron’s greenhouse would make a perfect Down To Earth Season 3. The build isn’t supposed to start until February 2026, and is estimated to be complete around September of next year. So there’s still plenty of time to get this greenlit!
In the meantime, Zac Efron has been spending time in L.A. before the big transition. In addition to watching his brother compete on Dancing With The Stars Season 34, the Neighbors actor is filming a thriller titled Famous alongside Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor. The upcoming A24 movie hopefully will be released sometime on the 2026 movie schedule.
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