By Christina Radish

Miley Cyrus at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards held at UCLA Pauley Pavilion in Westwood, Calif. on March 28, 2009.

Actress/singer/songwriter Miley Cyrus has propelled to international superstardom, since the series’ debut in 2006. The now 16-year-old became an immediate hit with audiences, and her own popularity has mirrored those of her increasingly famous television alter egos. Bringing Hannah Montana to the big screen was a natural step to showcase Cyrus’ multiple talents and the audience’s rabid desire to know more about their beloved heroines.

Miley Cyrus spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about the common misconceptions about her, being a teenager living with the paparazzi following your every move, and where she hopes her career will take her in the future.

MediaBlvd Magazine> For older audiences who may not be familiar with your work, why are you the entertainment superstar you are?

Miley Cyrus> The show and the movie are very real. I feel like the hardest thing about dealing with all the things I go through with paparazzi is people remembering that you are a real person. I feel like people forget that sometimes, and they forget privacy and respect. It’s important for people to remember that I am a real person and I have feelings. This movie is really gonna prove that to people.

MediaBlvd> What is the difference between Miley Cyrus and your character, Miley Stewart?

Miley> It’s all very confusing. The cool thing about the movie is that we got to take away from the persona a little bit. It’s not so separate. It shows that, realistically, you’re not going to be able to have this double life and really keep them as separate as you want. It has proven that, as much as Hannah and Miley change, it’s all the same person. The Hannah life really does start affecting Miley Stewart and starts making her the person that she was always so against. The reason that she had this double life was so that she could not become that person, and not obsess with material things and not be so obsessed with Hollywood and not remember who she is. I do have a lot going on, but it’s always important to bring it back to what’s important and that’s who you are, your friends and your family, especially throughout the show.

MediaBlvd> Can you talk about the casting process and what it was about Lucas Till?

Miley> I was on my best behavior during the audition. I was doing all of my commenting by text to my mom, and I believe one of my things that I said was, “He’s hot!” Another one of the guys that came in was a friend of mine and I was looking at him, thinking, “I love you so much, but no. This is too awkward because you’re my friend.” Lucas was a good actor.

MediaBlvd> Do you ever get to go home to Tennessee to get away?

Miley> I wish I had more time to. That was the longest I was in Tennessee since I left, and it was awesome. I really hope I can move back there, at some point, because that’s what I want. I just want a nice house there, where I can really escape. I was in Nashville for three or four weeks straight, and it really made me miss home, so I hope I can go back, at some point, for sure.

MediaBlvd> Have you thought of creating a Country album? Miley> I would like to do that, at some point, because that’s where I’m from. I was really happy to go back to Nashville and get to write a little bit more. “The Climb,” from the soundtrack, has a little Country vibe to it. A lot of those songs do because it went so well with the movie. Different people can relate to them. “The Climb” is a song that is so universal. It doesn’t matter what kind of music you like, what kind of person you are, what you’re used to listening to or if you know me or not, you can be inspired by it.                                                 

MediaBlvd> Have you thought about a Hannah Montana sequel?

Miley> This is a TV show and we got really lucky about having the material to make one movie. To do another one takes away the reality of it all. People that are in normal high schools look at this and see a blonde wig and say, “Oh, that’s not real. That’s not reality,” which is completely true. You’re not gonna be able to live that life, and I can’t live that life forever. I feel it was very clever, the way that we revealed the Hannah Montana secret. We’re continuing to do Season 3, and we all wish to do a Season 4. I would love to do that, if the time is right and that is what everyone agrees on. So, I don’t know if I would do another film, but I would love to do another season.                                                                                 

MediaBlvd> Do you ever wish you could take on another persona to escape the paparazzi?

Miley> That would be fun every once in a while, but just being myself is what I love and, if I ever had to change and become someone else to live this life, I probably would want to go home and just stay home because this is so much more than a job to me. It is my life, but it’s not everything I eat, sleep and breathe. I love it and, when I’m working, it’s the best thing ever. Music is my number one passion and I love making movies, but you can’t let it completely control you because then you’re just a puppet on a string and you don’t have any of that reality anymore. If you take on a persona, you don’t know who you are anymore. It’s still about just knowing who you are.

MediaBlvd>  What is the biggest misconception about you?

Miley> There are a lot of those. I’m grateful for my fans and I’m so happy to be doing what I do and I love it, but there’s a difference between loving your job and living only for your job. People always say that I’m over-working and I’m over-exposed, and what I want is all the attention and that’s not true. What I love is the art of it all, and that’s why I always say I want to go off and do other things, at some point, when the time is right. My dad tells me, “It’s all about the time. If the time isn’t right, nothing is going to fall into place.” Once the time is right, I’ll be able to do those things. I just want people to realize that I really am grateful for what I do and I really do care about the fans. I can’t help it if there are 40 photographers outside my house. I try to keep my life as private as I can, and I definitely don’t do what I do for the attention. If I knew, coming into this, that I would have all those people outside my house, I might have just given it a second thought.

MediaBlvd> What would you say then to teens who want to come to Hollywood? Should they pursue their dreams, or maybe go to college?

Miley> I say do it! Be a freak! Go to Hollywood!                                                                                                               

MediaBlvd> What is your comfort level with being a role model?

Miley> If you look at me as a role model, I agree with it. If you look at me as an idol, I don’t. An idol, for me, is someone that you want to replicate because you want to be them. I don’t wish that on anyone, to lose what they have personally, because that’s when your spark is lost. What I think people like about me and why they relate to me is because I don’t try to change and I haven’t let what I do for a living become my life and completely affect me. What I do personally, in my life, is not necessarily to be reported, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not going to be. I’m going to make mistakes and I would not trade that for anything because I always say that the minute you stop making mistakes is the minute that you stop learning. If I ever stop doing that, we’re all in trouble because that’s what life is all about. I never want to disappoint people, but sometimes my decisions not only disappoint other people, but myself as well. But, there are times that I’m going to makes mistakes and, if I don’t, then I’m not real and you really can’t look up to me.

MediaBlvd> Are you looking forward to playing other roles in the future?

Miley> This summer, I’m working on a movie that Nicholas Sparks wrote for me. You never really hear that the movie is written before the book, and it’s a weird way to do that, but he actually wrote the movie before he wrote the book, and he wrote it with me in mind. I’ve been lucky to play parts that relate to me, and this doesn’t at all. I have my issues, but not as bad as this chick, so I’m happy to play someone that’s out there and not someone that I’m like, so I can actually see if I’m a good actress or not, or if I’m just good at playing myself. We’ll see how that goes.

MediaBlvd> What other 2009 plans do you have?

Miley> Hopefully, just to continue to do different movies. And, I have a tour in mind for this year, which I’m excited about. 

MediaBlvd>  Do you have a favorite quote that motivates or inspires you?

Miley> My dad always said that, “A trying time is no time to quit trying.” I think that’s deep. He didn’t make it up. It was on a church sign at home, and he told me about it. That’s a good quote to remember.

MediaBlvd> Are you involved in any philanthropic organizations?

Miley> This is the third year since my granddad died. That was a hard day because he was like my best friend, so I have a foundation called The Pappy Cyrus Foundation. We’re working with all kinds of different people. We actually did a couple of trips back and forth to the White House. One of the reasons I was at the inauguration was so that we could get all of American involved. It’s something that’s so important. We deal with homeless shelters. When I was on tour in 2007, my best friend died of cystic fibrosis, right after my granddad had died, so I just had a hard time with cancers and that kind of stuff. That’s mostly who I work with. Then, I did a tour with The Jonas Brothers and we ended up raising $2.5 million for City of Hope, that went to cures and studies for kids. It was really amazing to watch the process. We got to go to the hospitals and watch them do all these crazy things. We were sitting there watching live cells being placed and it was amazing. That was one of the coolest experiences.