Zac Efron Thanks Matthew Perry During Emotional Walk of Fame Speech

Zac Efron was honored with a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday. And during the ceremony, the 36-year-old gave an emotional tribute to his former co-star Matthew Perry following the Friends star's death back in October.

The pair worked together on the 2009 comedy 17 Again, in which Efron plays a younger version of Perry's character, who gets a chance to go back to high school after finding himself magically transformed into the teen version of himself amid an impending divorce and midlife crisis. The pair bonded to the extent that Perry expressed hopes that the younger actor would play him in a biopic one day; a wish that Efron has since confirmed he plans to honor.

"I want to mention one person who isn’t here today and that’s Matthew Perry. Who was so kind and generous with me when we worked on 17 Again, Efron said during the ceremony. "Collaborating with him and [director] Burr Steers, it was really so much fun and it really did propel me and motivate me in so many ways. It really pushed me to the next chapter of my career."

"So thank you so much for that Matthew," he added. "Thinking of you a lot today."

Hollywood Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez said in a statement that the organization was "thrilled" to honor Efron, who is currently one of Hollywood’s most sought-after talents. Next, Efron will appear in the biographical sports drama The Iron Claw alongside Jeremy Allen White, who was also a guest speaker at Monday's ceremony.

“We are thrilled to honor actor Zac Efron who began his career as a Disney alum and has reinvented himself as a leading man by playing a wide variety of great roles," said Martinez. "What a way to end our year of star ceremonies with this very popular and gifted actor!"