The Cast of Hannah Montana: 10 Years Later

It's hard to imagine a time before Miley Cyrus wore nipple pasties and gyrated on a foam finger but the world was once a much simpler, family friendly Disney Channel place.

A decade ago this very week, Miley began her turn as a TV star on what's now the Disney Channel classic Hannah Montana; to mark the show's 10th anniversary, so here's a look at what the cast is up to now. Spoiler: They all look the same.

Miley Cyrus

 

 

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Then: Cyrus played Miley Ray... Stewart and her alter ego, Hannah Montana,  juggling her double life as a regular teenager and as a famous pop star. Art became reality, don't you know. 

Now: After the show ended, Cyrus starred in Nicholas Sparks movie The Last Song, where she met her on-again, off-again bae Liam Hemsworth (sounds a little familiar to one of Hannah's love interests, is all I'm saying). She focuses now mostly on her music, which is a lot less tween angst more, well, adult angst. Also, recreational drugs. She shares Instagram selfies of herself with zit cream on, which Hannah would never, but at least she still knows how to rock a good wig.

Billy Ray Cyrus

 

 

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Then: Billy Ray snagged the role as Robby Ray Stewart (a big stretch with the name), Miley's father. Robby Ray also acts as Hannah Montana's manager, oh, and he was a former country singer himself — seriously, sound familiar?

Now: After the show, Billy Ray went from being Miley's on-screen dad to... still being her real dad. And nothing's changed there. Since the show ended, he's had a few parts in TV shows and movies, including Sharknado 2: The Second One. According to his website, he's also working on new music.

Noah Cyrus

 

 

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Then: Yes, another member of the Cyrus clan landed a part on the show — multiple parts in fact, as Miley's younger sister Noah cameod on episodes throughout show, as characters like "girl with ice cream" and "girl on rope" according to IMDB. (Fun fact: Cyrus siblings Brandi and Braison also popped up here and there, but there's no trace of Trace in the show's credits.)

Now: Let's not ever forget that Noah was the voice of Ponyo, the titular fish in the classic animated Miyazaki movie. But that was back in 2008, admittedly. Since then she's been enjoying the young Hollywood lifestyle, with red carpet appearances here and there, and, according to a Change.org link currently listed on her Instagram account, is campaigning to have tail cropping and ear docking banned for dogs (it's a petition brother Braison started).

Emily Osment

 

 

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Then: Emily Osment, sister to Haley Joel Osment, played Miley Ray's best friend, Lilly Truscott. As Hannah's best friend, she took the alias Lola Luftnagle or Lola LaFonda. Later in the show, Lilly dates Oliver Oken, the third member of their trio (see below).

Now: While sticking to her Disney/ABC roots (she's still with Freeform, formerly ABC Family) the 24-year-old has moved on from sidekick to star. Osment now stars in her own TV show, Young & Hungry, which was just renewed for a fourth season.

Mitchel Musso

 

 

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Then: Musso played Miley's closest guy friend, Oliver Oken, who, wait for it, had a big crush on Hannah Montana! But not Miley Ray! Honestly, that's such a guy thing to happen. Also, he would later become Lilly's boyfriend. 

Now: Musso, now 25, really couldn't say goodbye to Disney either after his Hannah Montanagig finished up. He went on to play a part on the Disney Channel's Pair of Kings from 2010 to 2012, and he voiced multiple characters on the animated show Phineas and Ferb. In the past two years, he's starred in two movies — about a "carnivorous beach" and a furry respectively; he also runs a YouTube channel with his older brother.

 Jason Earles

 

 

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Then: Earles played Miley's quintessentially lazy older teenage brother, Jackson Stewart. Notably, Earles was in his late 20s when he landed the role, because that's often how the acting business works.

Now: Now 39 (!!!!), is past passing for teenagers (hopefully, maybe). He co-starred in another Disney Channel show, Kickin' It, from 2011 to 2015, and has appeared in a handful of other shows and movies since his Hannah Montana  days. According to his Twitter, he also has expanded into directing, with Disney Channel's Gamer's Guide To Pretty Much Everything.

Tammin Surnak

 

 

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Then: And look, it's Jackson's girlfriend! Australian singer/actress Tammin Surkan landed the recurring character's role in Hannah Montana's fourth season. 

Now: Of course you'll know her better as Pretty Little Liars' Jenna Marshall, who got blinded in that prank gone wrong. 

Moises Arias

 

 

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Then: Arias played Rico Suave, the series' main "antagonist." He attended school with Miley, Lilly, and Oliver, and managed Rico's Surf Shop, a beachside concession stand, where Jackson is one of his employees.

Now: The 21-year-old has mainly moved onto movies, especially of the indie variety. Arias has worked on multiple blockbusters, most notably The Kings of Summer, Ender's Game,and Ben-Hur (he's also currently filming a movie titled Little Bitches, which sounds like good fun). When he's not acting, he takes artsy photos for his Instagram, some of which you can enjoy below:

Cody Linley

 

 

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Then: Actor Cody Linley plays actor Jake Ryan (because Hannah Montana got meta like that), who's best known for playing a teen zombie slayer — The Walking Dead before its time, then. He and Miley have an on-again, off-again relationship throughout the series but ultimately break up due to his cheating. Tsk tsk.

Now: Your favorite teen crush, now 26, has moved on to mostly movies after his role on the show (as well as a turn on Dancing With The Stars a few years back). He even has a part in Sharknado 4, set to come out later this year.

Anna Maria Perez de Tagle

 

 

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Then: Perez de Tagle played Ashley Dewitt, one of the mean girls at Miley's school. Ashley and her best friend Amber Addison (see below) are rivals of Miley and Lilly's, despite being huge Hannah Montana fans.

Now: After her stint on Hannah Montana (and a role in Camp Rock), Perez de Tagle moved on from acting for the most part. She's had a couple of small appearances in shorts and TV shows, and did star in the 2011 Broadway revival of Godspell. Recently, she's been vlogging on YouTube and talking makeup on Instagram.

Shanica Knowles

 

 

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Then: And here's Ashley's best friend, Amber Addison, played by actress/singer Shanica Knowles.

Now: In addition to working on her music, Knowles has popped up on shows like Real Husbands of Hollywood, Suburgatory, Melissa & Joey, and Awkward, and has worked on a few shorts. She also starred in this Lifetime TV movie which sounds epic:

Romi Dames

 

 

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Then: Dames played Traci van Horn, a socialite friend of Hannah's.

Now: Dames stayed in the business of children's shows, working mainly on Nickelodeon'sWinx Club franchise since Hannah Montana ended. Let's take a moment for this #tbt she shared a little while back though, if only for the EVIL CAT:

Drew Roy

 

 

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Then: Drew played Jesse, another one of Miley's love interest in latter seasons of the show. Jesse is in Hannah Montana's band and Miley originally pretends to be interested in him to make her dad like Jake more. You know what happens next...

Now: Roy moved on from Hannah Montana to a leading role in sci-fi Falling Skies, which ran from 2011 to 2015. He also apparently found love after Hannah, as he recently got married.

And Selena Gomez

 

 

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Then: Gomez played the dramatically-named Mikayla Skeech in a few Hannah Montanaepisodes — a friend to Miley, but an enemy to Hannah which I guess makes her a frenemy overall? A great fun fact you can learn about this character from the Hannah Montana Wikia is that "Mikayla has a Motorola Razr cell phone," because 2006 y'all!

Now: Come on, it's Selena Gomez! It's worth noting that other well-known faces who popped up on the show in smaller roles included Alison Brie, Austin Butler, Breaking Bad's RJ Mitte, Vampire Diaries' Kat Graham and Chris Zylka. So there you go. In conclusion: