Zac Efron is usually the name to bop to the top of mind when talking about High School Musical's Troy Bolton.
But true Wildcats know Drew Seeley was the one to actually provide the character's vocals for the first film. And that's where the actors' connection starts and ends. Because 18 years after the Disney Channel original movie premiered, Drew and Zac have never fully talked to each other about their individual contributions to the part.
"I've met Zac a few times at parties and whatnot," Drew told E! News in an exclusive interview, "but I spent, by far, the least amount of time with Zac compared to any other cast member in High School Musical because I was really only brought in when he was unavailable or not around."
But while they weren't exactly all in this together, the Another Cinderella Story alum made it clear there isn't any drama—adding that Zac has "always been very cordial"—and that he looks forward to the start of something new in the future.
As he shared, "I'm sure one day we'll sit down as old men and hash it out."
And though Drew did audition to play Troy, he admits Zac—who sang in the second and third films—was the best man for the job, especially to star opposite Vanessa Hudgens.
"I was a good five, six years older than Vanessa," the 41-year-old explained. "So in my mind, that had something to do with it. I probably didn't look right with the lineup of everybody else. And also, Zac is a very talented actor and was great in the role. So, I think they did it right."
Why Disney decided to use Drew's voice for the first film instead of Zac's remains unknown.
"I was never told by Disney why they ended up using my voice and not Zac's," he admitted. "That's always been a mystery to me."
And Drew suspects the company didn't think it would be an issue in the movie.
"In all honesty, I think they were entirely caught off guard with how big it became," he later added. "They probably expected it to be successful, but not like the juggernaut that it was. So maybe at that point, they're like, 'We got an actor and a singer—what do we do? What do we say?' I think the story for a while was that our voices were blended. Let's call it what it was: I sang in the first film, Zac sang in the second and third films."
Drew also found what he was looking for as a songwriter, penning "Get'cha Head in the Game" with his mentor Ray Cham and Greg Cham.
"I was working on my own record when [Ray] got a side gig to write a song for this upcoming TV musical," Drew remembered. "And I asked him if I could help him work on the lyrics and demo it out."
"I didn't think anything was gonna come of it," he continued, "because you do a lot of those things and then never hear anything. And then something did come of it."
That's an understatement.
"I forgot about it until the movie came out," Drew acknowledged. "I was working at P. F. Chang's when the movie came out. I was watching High School Musical on the bar-top TVs trying to tell my coworkers, 'Hey, that's my voice.' Nobody believed me."
Though it's one of the few times he's tuned in.
"In all honesty, I've seen it once," Drew, who also joined the High School Musical tour, noted. "I've never gone back and watched it again. I have listened to the music a lot because I've performed the songs out in the world and want to make sure I know the lyrics."
But don't worry: The dad to daughter Ember, 4 (with wife Amy Paffrath Seeley) isn't breaking free from the movie entirely. "I really enjoy singing the songs," he said, noting "Stick to the Status Quo" is his favorite. "I'm gonna sing 'Breaking Free' at my daughter's spring fair festival in a couple of weeks 'cause some of their parents might know it."
In addition to enjoying "full-on dad life," Drew continues to act and sing—releasing music on Spotify and appearing in theater productions like Love Actually Live and movies such as Our Christmas Wedding.
And maybe one day he'll return to Disney.
"I've never really been forefront in any Disney projects, so that would be really fun and validating if that came along," he said. "But yeah, Disney's been great to me over my career. I've aged into some of the parent or coach roles. So maybe if there's a reboot, that could be a fun route. But I'm open to anything."
And if you're open to more High School Musical secrets, keep reading.