‘HANNAH Montana” might have turned Miley Cyrus into an overnight sensation and the biggest teen star, like, ever.
But it hasn’t made 16-year old Emily Osment – who plays Lilly Truscott, Hannah’s quirky best friend – into a freak. Yet.
“Honestly, it’s not as crazy as everybody thinks it is,” says Osment.
To prove exactly how ordinary things are, Emily and Jason Earles – Hannah’s brother on the series – made a video for MySpace. In it, she Jason sat around “eating our cup of noodles for lunch, [saying] ‘This is us, eating lunch down on ‘Hannah Montana,’ where we work, because we’re normal and we have normal jobs and we eat lunch.”
They’re not complaining.
While co-star Cyrus’ every move is chronicled in the tabloids and on the Internet, Osment – younger sister of Haley Joel – tends to scoot beneath the radar.
“Miley gets most of it, a lot of the paparazzi, mobbed on the street kind of stuff,” Emily says.
“In some ways, it’s awesome that it’s taken off of my shoulders and in other ways, it’s like ‘Oh my gosh.’ Every time she goes out, I feel bad that she’s constantly followed. That’s really tough on her.”
Unless she’s hanging out with Cyrus (then, “it’s a completely different story”), “I can sneak around and I’m good,” Emily says, although she’s learned that sunglasses and a hat come in handy when she’s at the mall.
Back when Osment auditioned for the role, at the robust age of 13, her concept of success was more modest.
“At the time, ‘That’s So Raven‘ was the biggest thing ever on the Disney Channel,” she says.
“So I basically had in my head: ‘Maybe we’ll be as big as ‘That’s So Raven,’ maybe people will watch the show.’ ”
Fast forward three years and actors like Heather Locklear, Brooke Shields and Ray Romano are begging to be guest stars on the series.
Even Rob Reiner is getting in on it. In tonight’s episode, airing at 7:30 p.m., Reiner plays himself, auditioning Hannah Montana for a role in a movie called “Indiana Joannie.” Osment’s character dons a pink wig to play Hannah’s assistant.
Emily also stars in a movie for the Disney Channel – “Dadnapped,” airing immediately after “Hannah” tonight – and has a debut record in the works.
Is she preparing for the day when “Hannah Montana” runs its course?
Not a crazy question right now. According to a video of Musso (Oliver Oken on the series) that hit the Web last week, this could be the series’ last season.
“Nobody knows what the situation is,” Osment is quick to say.
“Honestly, we should not even be talking about the end – we should be grateful for whatever we get, just appreciating that day and not thinking about the end of [the series]. I don’t think anybody wants to do that.”