Can you imagine anyone other than Miley Cyrus playing the role of Hannah Montana? Could anyone else have hidden her identity with only a blonde wig so flawlessly?Miley Cyrus was a pre-teen sensation during Hannah Montana's 2006-2011 run. The show was a huge hit for Disney, and it turned the young actress into a superstar. The story of Miley Stewart (played by Cyrus), who was a regular student during the day, but turned into a pop singer at night, struck a chord with kids at the time. The sitcom centered around Miley trying to hide her identity from those around her. Her real-life dad, singer Billy Ray Cyrus, played her father on the show. The cast also included her brother Jackson (Jason Earles), and friends Lily (Emily Osment) and Oliver (Mitchel Musso).Would Hannah have been the same without Miley? We will never know for sure.
8 What Hannah Montana Might Have Been
Can you imagine Alexis Texas? Hannah Cabana? Samantha York? These were three of the original names considered for Hannah Montana.
The idea for what we now know as Hannah Montana came from an episode of Disney hit That's So Raven. The premise was that a child star of a popular TV show decided to try life at a normal school. The girl's name was to be Chloe Stewart.
Miley originally tried out for the "best friend" Lilly, but they thought she would make a better main character. When she got the role, they changed her name from Chloe to Miley. The rest is history.
7 Drama Over Hannah Montana Casting
There was a recent viral TikTok by @fernandacortesx saying that singer and Cheetah Girls 2 star, Belinda Peregrin, was in the final three up for the starring role in Hannah Montana.
Lisa London, who was the original casting director on the hit Disney show, posted a video on August 17 to correct things.
“I’m actually the original casting director on Hannah Montana, and I discovered Miley Cyrus,” Lisa stated. “I wanted to let everyone know that Belinda — who is lovely by the way — was never in the top three for the role of Hannah.”
She went on to say who the other two were in that top three. Taylor Momsen and Daniella Monet were up for the role of Chloe, aka Miley Stewart.
6 Taylor Momsen Didn't Get Hannah But...
Things would have been quite different if Taylor Momsen starred as Hannah Montana. Not only would the Disney show have a different feel with Taylor, but then she wouldn't have been Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl.
Taylor was already a star at seven years old when she starred as Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. No wonder she was considered for Hannah Montana. But alas, she didn't get that role.
In 2017, Taylor got the Gossip Girl role that changed her life when she was just 14 years old. She was only on the series for three years. She left due to her music career. Her band, Pretty Reckless, became her priority and she was put on "indefinite hiatus" from the show. Her punk rock band has released four albums. The music is not very Hannah Montana.
5 Daniella Monet Ended Up On Nickelodeon
Trina Vega from Victorious as Hannah Montana? It's hard to imagine but obviously almost happened.
Daniella Monet played Trina, the sister of Tori Vega, played by Victoria Justice, on the Nickelodeon series, Victorious. Daniella played the perfect narcissistic, materialistic and tone-deaf Trina. She was a huge part of making Victorious the funny show that it was.
After the Nick series ended in 2013, Daniella continued acting. She is now a married mom of two.
4 JoJo Turned Down Hannah Montana
It is known that Miley was not the first choice for Hannah. The role was first offered to pop singer JoJo, whose real name is Joanna Levesque. She turned it down and then the role was given to Miley.
Did JoJo have any regrets after Hannah Montana became a huge success, and turned Miley Cyrus into a pop superstar? When asked, her response was, “No regrets. No regrets at all. Yeah, Disney offered me the role but it’s not really what I see for myself.”
3 Were Aly & AJ Considered For Hannah?
After Lisa London revealed the other two actresses considered for Hannah Montana, AJ Michalka spoke up.
AJ and her sister Aly were the pop duo Aly & AJ. They are also actresses, and starred in the Disney movie, Cow Belles.
AJ tweeted from the sisters' joint twitter account, “I adore Lisa London, but I have some tea beyond the tea to spill. Gary Marsh originally offered the role of ‘Hannah Montana’ to Aly, and I was offered the role of ‘Lilly Truscott’ (I know this so doesn’t matter but thought I’d chime in).” The girls turned the roles down.
2 Does Miley Cyrus Resent Hannah Montana?
Miley Cyrus was only 13 years old when she was thrust into the limelight. She seemed to be living the dream but, after Hannah, Miley rebelled.
Miley has said that she felt no once cared about her if she wasn't Hannah, and she had a bit of an identity crisis. She struggled with her post-Hannah fame.
Miley released her album Bangerz in 2013. This was when she shed her Disney image and wanted to be more mature and edgy.
As she has gotten older, Miley has come into her own. She has released multiple albums, and seems to have found her place as a singer and an artist. She is going strong.
1 A Hannah Montana Reunion?
Fans of Hannah Montana would love a revival of the series. Who wouldn't love to see where the characters are today? In 2020, Miley Cyrus and Emily Osment had their own little reunion on Miley's Instagram show, where they chatted and showed old photos.
It doesn't seem like a reboot will happen anytime soon, like iCarly did. But fans could always hope for a Friends-like reunion show one day.
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