Zac Efron Gets 'Emotional' Over Sacrifices His Parents Made on 'Small Shot' That He'd Make It (Exclusive)

Zac Efron is feeling grateful for his parents. 

As he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, the Iron Claw actor opened up to PEOPLE about how his parents, Starla Baskett and David Efron, supported him on the path to achieving his acting dreams.

“My mom and dad, they're the reason I'm here today,” says Efron, 36. “They believed in me when I don't know how they did. It must've been difficult to drive me back and forth to auditions when I was 15, three hours from the Arroyo Grande out here, just to have such a small shot.”

He continues of the sacrifices his parents made so he could be where he is today, “They believed in me, and they stuck with me, by my side, through all of it. And I think they sacrificed a lot to support me throughout the years."

"So to have them here and to both be here in person is ... it makes me emotional, man. It's very special. It means the world to me," Efron adds.

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Starla and David have mainly remained out of the spotlight, but the duo were firmly by their son’s side on Monday as they posed with him and his younger brother Dylan, 31, at the star ceremony.

“My parents love me in very different ways,” Efron told Elle in 2016. “But they checked every box. My dad always taught me to be driven. I was always the shortest kid at school. Always the worst kid on the team. I'd come home after practice and my dad would build a basketball hoop. Then we'd go out and shoot 100 free throws. Pretty soon every time I got fouled I would make my free throws.”

The Greatest Showman star's father is also dad to daughter Olivia and son Henry from his second marriage. 

Efron, who first broke out as the star of the High School Musical trilogy in the 2000s, is the 2,767th entertainment-industry figure to receive a star, per an official press release.

And as for what his HSM-era self would say about him receiving the honor, Efron tells PEOPLE, “Oh geez. Holy cow. I don't think he wouldn't believe me. Or yeah, I think he'd probably laugh.”

During the ceremony, Efron also paid tribute to his 17 Again costar Matthew Perry, who died in October at age 54.

Sharing that Perry was "so kind and generous with me" while they were filming the 2009 movie, Efron recalled, "Collaborating with him and [director Burr Steers] — it was so much fun, and really did propel me and motivate me in so many ways."

"It really pushed me into the next chapter of my career, and for that, thank you so much, Matthew," he added. "Thinking about you a lot today.”