When Dylan Efron first set foot in the Traitors castle for season 3, he seemed harmless enough — but he was one step ahead of the competition the entire way.
Thanks to his effortless charm and swift strategic sensibility, Efron, 33, shared the victory — and more than $200,000 — in the epic March finale with fellow Faithfuls Dolores Catania, Gabby Windey and Ivar Mountbatten. And he was able to do it all without relying on the impact of his famous brother, Zac Efron (who — yes, Bob the Drag Queen — is a good actor).
Dylan possesses a different kind of star quality than his former Disney Channel heartthrob sibling, but he’s equally irresistible. “I’ve never seen myself as a huge personality,” he tells Us Weekly exclusively while celebrating his honor in the Reality Stars of the Year issue. “I’m just pretty normal, trying my hardest, a little goofy, shy and easily embarrassed — and people can relate to it.”
Long before he faced off against Survivor and Big Brother legends on The Traitors, Dylan followed along with their journeys on TV — just like Us.
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“I’m a fan who grew up watching these shows, and now somehow, I’m getting a chance to play the show that those fans watch,” he marvels.
Among the powerhouses he competed against were Daniele Reyes and Britney Haynes of Big Brother fame and Survivor superstar Carolyn Wiger. A loyal Faithful, Dylan worked hard behind the scenes to suss out the Traitors of the bunch and send them packing one by one. He was especially proud of the strategy that helped get Reyes, 53, and Wiger, 38, out of the castle.
“I remember playing different outcomes in my head over and over and came to the realization that if the two of them lasted another night, the Faithfuls were going to lose, so we needed to make a move fast and it played out just how I envisioned,” he recalls to Us.
Dylan emphasizes that there’s no such thing as feeling comfortable throughout The Traitors, which is also part of “the beauty” of playing the game. But as the weeks went on, he began to feel more of the quiet confidence that led to his big victory.
“If I had to pick the moment I felt the most in control, it was when we successfully voted Carolyn out,” he tells Us, “because it felt like a transition from being deceived to deceiving the deceivers.”
While Dylan may not agree that he was the castle crush on season 3 — “that is clearly Alan [Cumming]’s role,” he teases — one thing he values most is the friendships he made on the show. And don’t worry, he promises his bromance with “Boston Rob” Mariano wasn’t just for the cameras.
“We obviously played up the bromance a bit,” Dylan says, “but in reality, we just get along really well and respect each other. We’ve made a lot of plans since the show and saw them through, and now we’re also working on a few projects together. … It was so cool getting to be on Traitors with him and now be able to call him a friend.”
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He also takes pride in choosing loyalty over money. “I think the show was designed for us to bring the final down to two people [instead of four],” he tells Us. “We made genuine connections on the show and we proved that those connections were worth more than a little extra money to us. So even though it factually wasn’t the best strategic move, the risk was worth it for the shared memory of winning together.”
Now, fans are watching Dylan take on an entirely different competition with less backstabbing — and a lot more sparkle. In September, Dylan was announced as one of the many celebrities making a play for the mirrorball trophy on Dancing With the Stars season 34. Week by week, he and pro partner Daniella Karagach are slowly solidifying their place on the leaderboard, and the judges have praised his transformation into a leading man.
“I’m not only learning to dance, but I’m learning to perform, and it feels like I’m using every hour of every day to see this through,” Dylan tells Us. “I’m just so proud of how much I’m putting into it.”
Asked which of the experiences is more challenging, Dylan quickly points to DWTS. (But if you ask Us, a little shimmying in the ballroom has nothing on hearing Tom Sandoval try to memorize backwards nursery rhymes in the middle of the Scottish woods.)
“While the Traitors is not easy, a lot of it is out of your control and dependent on luck,” Dylan clarifies. “DWTS is fully in your control, and it’s up to you to go out there to perform and do your best.”
Some of the other DWTS competitors — including MomTok influencers Jen Affleck and Whitney Leavitt and the already eliminated Fifth Harmony alum Lauren Jauregui — came armed with prior dance experience, but that wasn’t the case for Troy Bolton’s younger brother.
“It’s been incredibly challenging physically and mentally, and so rewarding for the same exact reasons,” Dylan says of his lack of training. “It’s so out of my comfort zone and I’m doing things I never thought I would.”
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So far, he and Karagach, 32, have taken on a spicy samba and a smooth foxtrot, also impressing fans at home with their cha-cha and quickstep. On Dedication Night, the pair earned the highest scores of the night — and the season so far — for their emotional contemporary routine. “It’s hard to believe I’m actually out there doing this,” Dylan confesses to Us.
From the Traitors turret to the DWTS skybox, Dylan’s “surreal year” has come with plenty of valuable lessons.
“[I learned to] just to trust myself,” he reflects. “Trust my intuition and keep tackling challenging things. I think it’s very real to be afraid of the unknown, or stray away from things that feel uncomfortable or potential failure — but challenging myself, whether I fail or not, is always worth it because it has allowed me to grow.”
Another major takeaway? Never cross a Housewife. “It’s funny because those women are so amazing in real life, from the few that I’ve met,” he teases. “But man, can they be ruthless when they need to be.”
After collecting his Traitors prize money, Dylan secured a new apartment and moved in with his girlfriend, Courtney King. When asked whether he would go back and change anything about his unexpected rise to stardom, Dylan quips, “Is it cheesy to say nothing?”
To learn more about Dylan and the other Reality Stars of the Year, pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
