High School Musical | What the Cast Is Up to Now

Welcome to MsMojo, today we’re looking at what all our favorite “High School Musical” icons have been up to since the movies.

Bart Johnson

Johnson had already made a name for himself in the industry before playing Coach Jack Bolton, Troy’s dad. Since the trilogy’s conclusion in 2008, he’s maintained a consistent acting career. Most of his TV roles have been one-off characters in various shows. Examples include “NCIS”, “Quantum Leap”, and “Hawaii Five-0”. His most well-known performance was probably when he came back for “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”. Indeed, he appeared in two episodes of season 4, giving us a nice boost of nostalgia. For those unaware, he’s also been married to Robyn Lively — Blake Lively’s sister — since 1999!

Alyson Reed

Reed was also widely known prior to “High School Musical”, having performed on Broadway starting in the late ‘70s. Since 2008, she’s notably been in loads of TV shows. Like Bart Johnson, these are mostly one-off characters. She’s had roles in “Bones”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Modern Family”, “Silicon Valley”, and many more. Luckily for us, she also came back for “HSMTMTS”’ final season. The only movie she’s been in since was “Ad Astra” in 2019, which acquired positive reviews, but was unfortunately a box–office flop. As if that wasn’t enough, she did the dialogue for witch Adria[a] in Blizzard’s “Diablo III”, too.

Kaycee Stroh

Martha Cox was an iconic character, with a passion for dance. It was tough not to love her. While playing Martha, Stroh also featured in two episodes of “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” as Leslie. She had a small cameo in “Hannah Montana: The Movie” in 2009 as well. In 2010, she starred in the weight loss reality show “Celebrity Fit Club”. Since then, she’s not done that much acting. “Andi Mack” fans might recognize her as Zoe from the “Andi’s Choice” episode, but her most popular role was probably teacher Kaycee in “HSMTMTS.” On a more personal note, Stroh has two daughters.

Ryne Sanborn

Known for playing Jason Cross, Sanborn has kept things pretty lowkey. In 2008, following the third film, he left acting behind completely. He then decided to pursue a degree in architecture at the University of Utah. But that’s not all. He also reportedly got serious about hockey in 2012, joining the Salt Lake Outliers. However, that seems to be the last anyone’s really heard of him, and details are scarce, to say the least. Sanborn first started modeling when he was still a toddler, then went on to become a child actor, so perhaps he’d grown tired of the industry by the time the “HSM” series was wrapping up.

Olesya Rulin [b]

The Russian-American actress who played Kelsi Nielsen has maintained a relatively successful career since 2008. She’s notably been in both “NCIS” and “NCIS: Los Angeles” — the latter for five episodes. Currently, her last role was 2023’s “Black Bags”, a television movie. Hilariously, she also starred in one episode of “Family Guy” as Russian Meg Griffin. In 2021, she married Joseph Noel Pauline, who co-founded “The Laundry Room” clothing line. Less than a year later, Rulin gave birth to a daughter. In addition to all of this, she was also a ballet dancer, pianist, and certified nursing assistant.

Chris Warren

Forever Zeke Baylor to “HSM” fans, Warren has been acting for over two decades. Currently, he has a main role in Tyler Perry’s series “Sistas”, portraying Hayden Moss. Previously, he had a recurring role on “The Fosters”’ third and fourth seasons. He would go on to star in the short lived ABC mystery series “Grand Hotel.”Amusingly, he also guest-starred in the American version of “The Inbetweeners”, a critically reviled remake of the iconic British show. Meanwhile, Clearly, Warren knows how to keep busy. We can’t wait to see what he continues to do within the industry!

Monique Coleman[c]

Coleman began acting at least 11 years before the first “HSM” movie, making her one of the older cast members. Of course, she’s the one who brilliantly brought Taylor McKessie, one of Gabriella’s first friends, to life in the franchise. Since then, she’s acted in a variety of movies and shows. In 2021, she and Corbin Bleu, also known as Chad Danforth, played the lead roles in “A Christmas Dance Reunion”. Coleman was also among those who appeared in “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” guest-starring for two episodes in the final season. Lifetime movie fans may also recognize her from “Trapped in the Spotlight.”

Corbin Bleu

Troy’s best friend Chad wouldn’t have been as mesmerizing as he was without Corbin Bleu’s charm. The actor has a rich career, with a huge focus on theater work. Since 2010, he’s been in tons of plays. He took on the lead in “Little Shop of Horrors” Off-Broadway, and was Bill in “Kiss me, Kate” on Broadway. Additionally, he’s such a good performer that he won the reality competition show “The Real Dirty Dancing” in 2022. That same year, he took on a recurring part in “HSMTMTS.” Years after his time as Chad came to an end, Bleu is still enchanting audiences on screen and especially on stage.

Lucas Grabeel [d]

The man behind Ryan Evans also came back for “HSMTMTS.” Other than this, Grabeel has had various jobs in television across the years, in things like “Phineas and Ferb”, “Doraemon[e]”, and more than 20 “Family Guy” episodes. He also played “Pinky Malinky” in the Netflix animated show of the same name. Plus, in the 2010s, he nabbed the role of Toby Kennish in “Switched At Birth”, which ran for 5 seasons. The series was noteworthy for having scenes shot completely in American Sign Language. Grabeel also tried his hand at music, releasing an EP in 2011, but seems to have given up after one last 2014 single.

Ashley Tisdale

Did you know Candace from “Phineas and Ferb” also had a major part in “High School Musical”? Tisdale was the Sharpay Evans in the trilogy, while also playing Maddie in “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.” She doesn’t act as often as she used to — though you can watch her in since-finished projects like “Carol’s Second Act.” She also turned her focus on her music career. Her album “Symptoms” was released in 2019, and it was so good people just wished it was longer. She’s also a businesswoman, having launched her own wellness brand. On the family side of things, she and husband Christopher French have two girls together.

Vanessa Hudgens

Playing Gabriella Montez, one of the franchise’s two leads, instantly made Hudgens a star. Her career has spanned over 2 decades, and she has tons of impressive performances under her belt. She recently branched out into reality TV, dressing up as the Goldfish and winning season 11 of “The Masked Singer.” The Oscars have also previously hired her as a pre-show host! In 2023, she got married to baseballer Cole Tucker, with the couple welcoming a child less than a year later. Of course, Hollywood still hires Hudgens for movies often, like the “Bad Boys” films and “The Princess Switch” trilogy.

Zac Efron

Since Troy Bolton debuted, Efron has been an A-list celebrity. He still regularly works in big-budget Hollywood productions, like 2023’s “The Iron Claw.” One of his most famous projects from the past decade was in “The Greatest Showman” alongside Hugh Jackman, where he got to show off his song and dance skills once more. Efron also played Ted Bundy in a Netflix biographical crime drama, which he received massive praise for. In 2024, he turned 37 years old, the age the grown-up version of his character initially is in “17 Again.” Talk about making us feel old!

What’s the favorite thing you’ve seen a “High School Musical” star in since the film series ended? Let us know in the comments!

[a]AY-dree-uh

[b]oh-LESS-yuh ROO-lin
[c]moh-NEEK KOHL-muhn
[d]LOO-kiss GRAY-beel
[e]DOOR-rye-MON