Jason Earles Reveals He Lied About Age to Land Hannah Montana Role

• Jason Earles was 28 years old playing a 16-year-old during the first season of Hannah Montana.
• He told Disney he was 18 during auditions because he feared being rejected for being too old.
• Network executives only discovered his real age and secret marriage halfway through season one
• The show’s producer later thanked him for lying as they would have recast him initially.

The actor who made us laugh as Jackson Stewart has dropped a bombshell. Jason Earles admitted he wasn’t totally honest when he joined the cast of Hannah Montana.

He kept a massive secret from Disney bosses for longer than anyone realised. The truth only emerged halfway through filming the very first season.

Why Jason Earles Lied About His Age

Jason almost didn’t bother auditioning for the role of Miley Cyrus on-screen brother. He was convinced nobody would believe a man in his late twenties could pass for a 16-year-old high schooler.

So he took a gamble and shaved a decade off his real age. “When I auditioned for the show, I lied to them and told them I was 18 years old,” he revealed on the Best of Both Our Worlds podcast. The casting director reportedly encouraged him to avoid drawing attention to the truth. He worried constantly that getting caught would cost him the job.

Jason Earles’ Real Age During Hannah Montana

While his character Jackson Stewart was navigating teenage crushes and surfing, the actor was actually a 28-year-old married man. Miley Cyrus was just 13 when filming began, making the real age gap between the on-screen siblings around 15 years.

He was closer in age to his TV dad Billy Ray Cyrus than to his TV sister. Jason also had to hide his marriage to his then-wife Jennifer during this time. Fans would sometimes approach them at dinner and mistake his wife for his mother, a moment he recalls killed the romance instantly.

When Producers Discovered Jason Earles’ Age Lie

The secret stayed safe until roughly episode eight of the first season. A high-level network executive finally showed up on set and confronted him directly. “Hey, so you’re 28,” the boss said, to which Jason simply replied, “I am.”

The executive then asked if he had any other secrets, leading Jason to confess he was also married. Surprisingly, showrunner Steven Peterman later thanked him for lying. He admitted they would have recast the role if they had known the truth during the pilot, but by episode eight, they were already committed.

Fans React to Jason Earles Age Confession

Social media lit up after the podcast episode dropped, with opinions sharply divided. Some called the situation “creepy,” pointing out that a nearly 30-year-old man was shooting romantic scenes opposite minors.

Others admitted they always suspected something was off. One user commented that Jackson always looked “a little too refined” to be a teenager. However, many defenders pointed out that playing younger is common in Hollywood, referencing the cast of High School Musical. They argued that since he played a sibling rather than a love interest, the age difference wasn’t an issue.

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Last Updated on March 19, 2026 by 247 News Around The World