Teen idols dominate Hollywood television and the silver screen. High School Musical’s Zac Efron, and Twilight’s Robert Pattinson are just two of these hunk young actors who made a lot of girls swoon this year. Whether dressed to kill or plain shirtless, teen idols never cease to capture the hearts of female fans all over the globe.

Zac Efron

Born in California to David Efron and Starla Baskett, Zac Efron lived a pretty normal childhood. He was a straight A student back in school, but his concentration on his academics never stopped him from heeding the call of the acting bug. Juggling his love for learning and acting at the same time, he managed to perform in school plays such as Gypsy, Peter Pan, and the Music Man. Through his theater experience and exposure, Zac caught the eye of talent scouts and was later signed to an acting agency.

This American singer and actor first dazzled female audiences when he portrayed guest roles on TV series like Firefly, The Guardian and ER. He finally landed a regular role in the hit WB series Summerland in 2004 alongside the hottest teen actors of his generation, Jesse McCartney and Lori Loughlin. Other TV movies and shows he appeared in that exponentially increased his exposure and popularity were The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, The Replacements and Miracle Run.

His biggest role to date is High School Musical’s lead character, Troy Bolton. He also starred in the hit movie musical, Hairspray with John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer. This 2009, Zac Efron will be releasing two films (both are remakes of famous movies in the past decades) namely Footloose and 17 Again.

In October 2007, Zac Efron confirmed relationship rumors with HSM co-star Vanessa Hudgens. The official statement was released after shirtless Zac Efron pictures with Vanessa Hudgens frolicking in the beach of Mexico were published by magazines.

Robert Pattinson

Robert Thomas Pattinson is a British actor, musician and model, whose launch to fame was due to his famous portrayal Edward Cullen in the movie, Twilight. He also starred as Cedric Diggory in the 5th movie installment of the Harry Potter series.

Born in London to Clare and David Pattinson, Rob started to hone his acting talent by performing in amateur plays and joining the Barnes Theater Company. When his natural propensity for acting was spotted by an acting agency, he went on doing theater work professionally. Aside from acting, Robert Pattinson also worked as a model. In an interview he said that he had an unsuccessful modeling career because the industry, during the time he plunged into modeling, was looking for the androgynous look which opposed his lean and muscular appearance. Despite his modesty about his body type, Robert Pattinson shirtless images were still published in top magazines all over the world, marking his way as one of the most marketable young actors of his generation.

ac Efron and Robert Pattinson are undeniably two of the most sought-after talents in Hollywood not only for being known as shirtless teen idols, but as rare acting talents foreseen as the successors of Hollywood royalties, Brad Pitt and George Clooney.