Hollywood movie star Zac Efron was reportedly attacked in a “very bad area” of LA, just after midnight on Sunday according to TMZ.

The 26 year old and his body guard were forced to stop after their car ran out of gas. His night was, however, about to take another turn for the worse.

Two of the attackers targeted the bodyguard, and as Efron got out of the car to assist him, he got punched straight in the face.

The former High School Musical actor is quoted as saying: “It was the hardest I’ve ever been hit in my life.”

According TMZ, police on patrol in the area spotted Zac in a confrontation with another person, with at least three other people around them. The bodyguard later credited Zac with saving his life.

Last year Efron broke his jaw (having to have it wired shut) after he ‘slipped in a puddle of water at his home,’ according to TMZ.

In the aftermath of his fall Daily Mail reported rumors that he “did NOT slip on a puddle when he broke his jaw, but fell into a glass coffee table after night of partying”.

The reason speculation spread regarding wild partying being the cause of his broken jaw is due to Efron’s drug problems in the past, which saw him admitted to rehab twice last year for cocaine abuse.