Lucy Hale’s Surprising Audition for Hannah Montana Before Miley Cyrus Was Cast!

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It’s been nearly 19 years since Miley Cyrus made her debut as Hannah Montana and, even now, I still can’t picture anyone else playing the role. Cyrus went on to become a household name and, in 2024, she even became the youngest person to be named Disney Legend. Of course, some ex-child stars, who are still acting today, also auditioned for the part all those years ago, including a Disney Channel vet who came close. Now, I’ve learned that Lucy Hale was also among those hopefuls early on.

It’s honestly starting to feel like just about any and every notable tween actress of the early 2000s, including Aly Michalka, Daniella Monet, Taylor Momsen, were vying for Hannah Montana‘s lead role. Hale admitted during her BuzzFeed puppy interview (which is on YouTube) that she’s auditioned for many notable productions over the years. What’s most surprising about her Hannah story, though, is that she apparently auditioned way before Miley Cyrus was in the mix:

It was for Miley’s part. It was when I still lived in Tennessee. And I was 14 at the time, so this would have been, ‘math, math’ 21 years ago, and it was a couple years before they had cast Miley in it. And I remember the audition. It was a taped audition in Tennessee. It was the audition that made me want to be an actress. I remember that vividly, it was very cool.

It’s honestly somewhat hard to picture Lucy Hale as Miley Stewart though, given her Tennessee roots, I can understand why casting directors were interested in her. Hale’s performance in A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song and work on her country album prove she certainly has the pipes that would’ve been necessary for the role. What should be mentioned, though, is that if she had booked the gig, there’s a chance she may not have eventually joined the cast of Pretty Little Liars. Hale may not have known it at the time, but I’d say everything worked out in her favor.

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Also, it doesn’t sound like the Katy Keene star holds any ill will in regard to roles she didn’t land. Hale also admitted during her interview that she auditioned for Pitch Perfect, Hairspray and even the Oscar-winning film The Substance. She also previously recalled going out for Fifty Shades of Grey and not understanding the sex references. All in all, I really love the actress’ take on not landing roles:

I feel like, because I’ve lived in L.A. almost 20 years, everyone who gets the role is always, it’s meant to be their thing. But, for every ‘yes’ to an audition, there’s like a lineup of 200 that you heard a ‘no’ for. So I should probably go back, like in journals, and look at all the things I’ve auditioned for.

After missing out on Hannah Montana, Lucy Hale ended up being tapped to play Aria Montgomery just several years later, and she certainly made that role her own on Pretty Little Liars. Also, on a side note, Hale did appear on Disney Channel after auditioning for HM. She appeared during two episodes of Wizards of Waverly Place Season 1, playing the role of Justin Russo’s girlfriend, Miranda Hampson.

When it comes to Miley Cyrus, she was initially denied the lead role of Miley Stewart because she was too young and still won in the end. Today, Cyrus still has love for Hannah and, as a fan, I love that. As great as Cyrus was as the character, though, it’s cool to ponder what someone else might’ve done in the role. I’ll continue to think about that while waiting to see if anyone else follows in Lucy Hale’s footsteps and reveals their own audition for the musical teen sitcom.

At present, viewers with a Disney+ subscription can stream all four seasons of Hannah Montana. On the other hand, those with a Hulu subscription have access to the entire seven-season run of Pretty Little Liars.

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2025-03-17 20:50