Troy Bolton

Template:Character Infobox

Every Highschool has its Musical.

**Troy Bolton** is the main character in the *High School Musical* trilogy. He is the captain of East High Wildcats basketball team. He is also boyfriend of Gabriella Montez (one of the smartest and most extraordinary students). He is the son of Jack Bolton and Lucille Bolton. It took a while for his father to understand his love for singing, but now both parents are supportive, loving and happy. His dad was the coach, so every now and then -- especially on big games -- his father would organize college scouts to come and watch him play.

Troy is portrayed by Zac Efron.

## Biography

Troy is the most popular student at East High, making him the "Golden Boy". He meets his future girlfriend Gabriella Montez at a lodge while on vacation and the two sing together. The two later find themselves attending the same school as Gabriella moved to Albuquerque. Through a series of events, they become friends, then the two end up singing together once more and become best friends. A series of ups and downs throughout the rest of the films, their relationship is full of questions and results in Troy choosing to attend Berkeley for college, a mere 32.7 miles from Gabriella's choice of Stanford University as opposed to that of the 1053 miles of U of A. He is best friends with Chad Danforth. He's also friends with Ryan Evans, Jason Cross, and Zeke Baylor.

## Physical Appearance

 File:6118870.jpg   Troy is described as "the most attractive boy at East High" with floppy brown chestnut hair, cabot blue eyes, high cheekbones, a strong jawline, perfect eyebrows, a straight nose and full lips who also has a very athletic body and the height to match. He went from having long hair in the first movie, much shorter hair in the second movie and slightly longer hair but not as long as first one in the third movie. Weighing in around a 140-pounds of pure body muscle. He is an average size boy, standing at 5'8" tall. His skin is golden with a tan complexion which sums up his outgoing personality and speaks about how much he enjoys being outside. Hitting the gym every other day, along with playing basketball constantly, he has nicely defined muscles.

## Personality

Despite being Captain of The Wildcats, Troy is a friendly and outgoing young man who genuinely has the greater good in mind. If it came down to it, Troy would throw his kindness out to the world. If he could make someone happier than they were and make them feel a little better, that was the highlight of it all. Troy puts the well-being of those who surround him before his own; particularly Gabriella Montez, his girlfriend.

Troy's desire comes from his strong belief in doing the right thing. He has a strong sense of duty and he fights for justice and peace. Troy is also a natural leader. He takes charge of a situation without meaning to and people follow his lead without question. Because of this, Troy feels a great deal of responsibility for his allies and will try to bear the brunt of the responsibility and burden of their actions. And if he ever fails them, he can be tormented with feelings of guilt that can affect his confidence. He's not one to talk behind someone's back or insult someone. He is completely honest and trustworthy, and he never breaks his promises.

All that being said, Troy is still a teenage boy as he can be headstrong, competitive and temperamental. Despite his optimistic goodness, Troy has always been sensitive, emotionally. Words have the ability to slice into him like knives, and he will ruminate over and internalize any accusation or insult hefted at him by a person whose opinion he holds in high regard. It seems that disappointing others is something Troy fears greatly. Disappointing and upsetting someone he cares about could plunge Troy into a melancholic state. By far, however, the biggest trigger for his depressive episodes is Gabriella (or anyone else he is very close with) pulling away from him. However, he is also relatively laid-back and easygoing, and as long as there is no immediate stress, his emotional state remains fairly stable.

## Story

### High School Musical

Troy meets Gabriella Montez at a ski lodge on New Year's Eve and discovers his interest in singing when a man at the family bar where they are partying forces both Troy and Gabriella to get up on stage and sing with each other. Later, upon realizing they go to the same school, Troy falls for Gabriella and decides to take a chance by auditioning for the Twinkle Towne musical with Gabriella Montez, despite his already-established athletic talent. He lands a callback, and his life and school are turned upside down. However, tragedy strikes when his own team tricks him into saying that Gabriella and the callbacks don't matter to him at all while videotaping him with a camera--and with Gabriella watching the whole thing. He has no idea, however, that she saw the whole thing, or that he was being videotaped the whole time, so he's confused as to why Gabriella said she didn't want to do the callbacks either and stopped talking to him. His basketball team and friends, along with Gabriella's science team and friends, try to pointedly break them up upon realizing that they fall into different crowds and that their stereotypes overlapping would throw off the normality of their high school cliques. After that, he became completely unfocused on winning the championship game, as well as seriously brokenhearted, given that his friends had broken him and Gabriella up. Realizing the mistake they made and how they hurt their friend and captain, Troy's best friend and fellow teammate, Chad Danforth, fellow Wildcats, Zeke Baylor and Jason Cross tell the truth. Later on that night, he goes to Gabriella's house, calls her on her cell phone and explains that he only said the things that she heard to get his friends to finally shut up about singing with her. To prove it, he goes up to her balcony and sings the chorus of the "song" they sang at the New Year's Eve Party to try to convince her to do the callbacks with him "(Start of Something New (Reprise))".

After being reminded that it's a pair's audition, she agrees and apologizes for leaving him. In the end, he and Gabriella both snag the roles of Arnold and Minnie when they conspire to destroy Sharpay and Ryan's plan of having the Scholastic Decathlon, Callbacks, and Basketball Tournament all on the same day. In the end, the whole class sings "We're All In This Together" in the gym, and Troy and Gabriella share a fun-filled moment.

### High School Musical 2

 File:Gotta My Own Way.jpg   By the second movie, Troy and Gabriella Montez are very much together. When summertime comes, Troy lands a job at Lava Springs (comparable to Lost Izalith from the hit game Dark Souls) by Mr. Fulton--at the hands of the Evans family. Upon realizing that the Evans family is responsible for hiring employees and that Mr. Fulton works for them, Troy makes a deal with Mr. Fulton that he'll work there if the rest of the Wildcats can, too, as well as Gabriella. At first, it's a struggle for them all, but Troy with his bright idea encourages the Wildcats that no matter what happens, they're spending the summer together, at this point they're in the kitchen and that is when they sing "Work This Out". Sharpay Evans uses her power to her advantage, giving Troy easier jobs so he can spend more time with her. He gets close to Sharpay and her family, goes out golfing and to dinner with them, and makes various promises (such as PROMISING to sing with Sharpay) as Sharpay showers him with gifts and luxuries. Troy turns into a different person given his new job, his new promotion as a golf instructor, and his new college opportunities. He becomes arrogant and lazy, letting his colleagues serve him in the kitchen and being waited on by them, acting selfish and immature. His friends and Gabriella realize this change and are not thrilled. Then, Gabriella talks to him and he realizes that he is changing and has been neglecting their relationship. He eventually loses the trust of all the Wildcats, including Gabriella. Upset, angry, sad and disappointed, Gabriella finally breaks up with him and she gives him back the necklace he gave her as she leaves Lava Springs despite him begging her to stay leaving them both brokenhearted with Troy being both brokenhearted and speechless ("Gotta Go My Own Way").

The rest of the Wildcats stay mad at him. But when Kelsi Nielsen shows him the note of the other Wildcats being prohibited to be on the show, he finally realizes his mistake. He goes to the golf park and makes a promise to make things right ("Bet on It") where he then confronts Sharpay and tells her he isn't going to sing in the show with her.

When the word had been spread, the Wildcats finally forgive him, after he apologizes in the kitchen. He refuses to sing with Sharpay in the talent show, although he does eventually agree to sing with her, remembering the promise he made and trying to stay true to himself and his values. He is later seen on stage singing "Everyday", where to his surprise, Gabriella finally appears singing with him (a plan Ryan Evans and the Wildcats conspired to do for him and Gabriella, to bring them together). He later rekindles his relationship with Gabriella, and they have their first kiss tenderly in the sprinklers underneath the fireworks at Lava Springs. ("You Are the Music in Me (Reprise)"). By the time the final song of the movie is sung ("All for One"), Troy and Gabriella appear to have resolved their differences and are seen having fun in the sun, dancing and splashing around in the pool together.

### High School Musical 3: Senior Year

File:Giphy.gif Close up of Troy in the middle of the big championship game against the West High Knights basketball team. The buzzer sounds and East High is down. The Wildcats sulk back to their locker room, but Coach Jack Bolton tells the team to ignore the x's and o's. There are only sixteen minutes left in this game, and only 16 minutes left for the seniors to wear a Wildcats basketball uniform. Troy and Chad Danforth then lead the team out, to the song "Now or Never". They win, to thunderous applause and with Troy actually drawing the attention of the rival team away and then to which they win the game. Troy and Chad are next seen pushing Troy's smoking pickup truck in front of Troy's house, where a huge party is being held to celebrate the Wildcat win. Troy's dad introduces him to the coach of the basketball team at the University of Albuquerque, and everybody seems to accept that both Troy and Chad will be going there in September. but Troy dodges everyone to take Gabriella Montez up to his treehouse. In the treehouse, Troy sings "Right Here, Right Now" with Gabriella, where both affirm that wherever their futures take them, their hearts are together.

File:30w2ds5.gif The next day in homeroom, Ms. Darbus asks Sharpay Evans to outline her plans for the "spring musicale" and Sharpay says that she thought maybe it should be a one-woman show. Kelsey immediately starts writing at great speed on a clipboard, and when Miss Darbus asks if sign-ups are that light, Kelsey replies that no, there's a good turnout, actually. Miss Darbus looks at the sheet and says that it seems everyone has signed up including Troy who Kelsey signed up, Everyone is then upset and all saying they had different plans for their free period instead of rehearsing a musical. But Gabriella makes a plea for them to consider doing the musical, as their last chance to do something together. The main group still are interested, until Troy declares that he's in. Miss Darbus also shares her big news: four students in that group are being considered for one scholarship at the pre-eminent Julliard School of the Performing Arts in New York: Sharpay, Ryan Evans, Kelsi Nielsen... and Troy. Troy asks who the comedian is, obviously thinking this is a joke. Miss Darbus asks him whether something is wrong. Troy says he never heard of Julliard, but Miss Darbus tells him that Julliard has obviously heard of him. Although he says he has no interest in Julliard, he still starts flipping through the catalog that Miss Darbus hands to him. The next day, Gabriella gets a call from Troy. He's in the rooftop garden and wants her to come up straightaway. When she gets there, he shows her a few different suit jackets and asks her to pick which one he should wear for their prom. Gabriella says she's never been asked to a prom before, but she thinks that was an invitation. Troy says he hasn't been to a dance before and is afraid they might have to waltz since the theme of the prom is "The Last Waltz".

 File:Tumblr m0cow1kOko1qg0oago1 500.gif   Gabriella shows him how she danced with her father when she was a little girl and they begin singing "Can I Have This Dance?" even when it starts pouring with rain. Troy then takes Gabriella home after school, and while they sit in her backyard, she chides him that he should be able to tell his dad and Chad that he enjoys performing. He replies that while she and her mom both chose Stanford as the place she should be, he feels that the University of Albuquerque was chosen for him, not by him. Mrs. Montez interrupts the moment, but Troy is clearly unsure where he should go after high school. Troy and Chad are next seen presenting Taylor with a tray of something Zeke baked fresh from the oven. Taylor and Gabriella congratulate them on kissing up to the editors of the yearbook, and Troy teases that Chad is hoping to have two pages fully to himself, with a third page solely for his hair. Chad then casually refers to Taylor going with him to the prom, and she stops him by saying that she wants an invitation, which that wasn't. Troy then meets Chad in the cafeteria and gives him a bouquet of wildflowers from the roof garden. Chad tries to ask Taylor to be his date, but she pretends to misunderstand because of all the noise. Troy hollers for quiet, and Chad stands on a table opposite Taylor, Gabriella, Kelsi, and Martha, before pleading for Taylor to be his date to the dance. The four girls huddle as though talking the pros and cons over before Taylor stands and accepts him with an enthusiastic hug.

 File:033-220.jpg   Troy and Chad are next in a car parts junkyard, and the owner congratulates them both, telling them he's already bought season tickets for the next basketball set for the University of Albuquerque. Troy starts to explain to Chad that he might want to do different things in the future than what they originally always planned, and "The Boys Are Back" follows, with a big "Thriller" style dance number in the junkyard, even briefly showing the boys as 8-year old versions of themselves playing in the same yard. Troy meets Gabriella at her house, with a special picnic in her room, and tries to encourage her to accept the honor program at Stanford. She finally says that she's had a lot more practice at saying goodbye than Troy has, which confuses him, as he expects her to return for the prom and graduation ceremonies, Gabriella sends him off. At East High, things have gone rather badly downhill. Ryan takes Troy through the new choreography for "Just Wanna Be With You" with Sharpay in the role, and Troy whispers that Ryan is a better dancer than Sharpay. The set behind them crashes, and Kelsi tries to comfort Troy from the orchestra pit, saying that without Gabriella, it would've always been the Sharpay show from the beginning. In the next scene, Troy and Chad come into the Bolton kitchen, and Troy shows his mother the suit he collected from the rental place for the prom in two days. As if on cue, Gabriella phones, but Troy is soon heartbroken when she explains that she won't be coming back for either prom or graduation. Chad tells Troy that "you don't take the girl from high school with you," and says that Gabriella is one step ahead of them as usual.

 File:014-403.jpg   He says that she'll be there at Stanford, while he and Troy will be in Albuquerque, and it'll be a "whole new ball game". But Troy says he isn't sure he wants his life to be a ball game anymore, leaving Chad perplexed. Chad then says Troy should be with his friends for the prom, and Troy responds that he doesn't plan to miss it. Troy tries to explain to his dad that he might want to do something different than University of Albuquerque and basketball and ends up heading to East High. While a lightning storm rages outside, Troy faces the specter of past glories and present expectations, moving from the locker room and the gym to the drama stage, singing the song "Scream". When he finishes, he sees Miss Darbus sitting there. She admits that she sent his name to Julliard, and offers an apology if she overstepped herself. Troy says he isn't mad, but he doesn't know what to do. Miss Darbus says that it's better to look at opportunities now instead of ten years later. At Stanford, Gabriella comes out of a university building, only to see what looks like Troy's pickup truck in the parking lot ahead of her. Then she hears a familiar voice from a tree saying, "I figured you'd be the last one out of the building." It's Troy, wearing the suit he rented for their prom, and he jumps down in front of her. He explains that for him, the prom is wherever she is, and they begin dancing to a song that is a "Can I Have This Dance? (Reprise)", which also seems to show them at the East High prom, taking turns waltzing with their other friends as well. Back at East High later on Throughout the show, two representatives from Julliard continually are accessing the various performances, and both seem quite impressed when Troy finally comes in, singing to Gabriella. Troy announces that he'll be attending the University of California, Berkeley in the fall to play basketball and do theater but most importantly, to closer to Gabriella. The scene changes to a graduation ceremony on a football field, where Troy is addressing the entire group, saying how one person can change everything, and how East High has encouraged them all to shake off the status quo. The students race and form a Wildcat design before singing "High School Musical". That scene turns back into a stage, with Chad, Sharpay, Troy, Gabriella, Ryan and Taylor coming forward to take bows to the audience at the musical.

## Trivia

* Troy wears his white and red shirt in all three *High School Musical* movies.
* In all three movies, Troy wears a golden-colored class ring with a red pearl on top.
* The role of Troy was written for a tenor before, Zac Efron, a baritone, was cast.
	+ As Efron's vocal range were out for the role, producers brought in Canadian-American singer-songwriter and actor Drew Seeley, to do some to most of Troy's singing voice for the first film.
	+ Drew Seeley also auditioned for the role alongside Efron, to which the latter won the part. The producers decided to cast Efron for his acting and have Seeley blend in.
	+ During the High School Musical concert tour, Seeley filled in for Efron, who could not join the cast due to a scheduling conflict with the shooting of the 2007 film adaptation of the Broadway musical *Hairspray.*
* For the second and third films, Zac Efron did all of his own singing.
* Troy's Zodiac is Leo.
* Troy is born July 22nd,1990.

## References

1. ↑  File:Redwhite1.jpg
2. ↑  File:Redwhite2.jpg
3. ↑  File:Redwhite3.jpg
4. ↑  File:Redandwhite1.jpg
5. ↑  File:Redandwhite2.jpg

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