Hannah Montana: What Happened To Jackson Stewart Actor Jason Earles?

It's been 20 years since "Hannah Montana" first graced our screens, and for many, it was the most pivotal Disney show of the 2000s. Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) had to juggle being a regular kid while having an alternate pop star persona, Hannah Montana. It's a heavy burden, but fortunately, she has plenty of support, including from her older brother, Jackson (Jason Earles).

Despite Jackson being 16-years-old in the show, Earles was actually in his late 20s when he got cast. No one noticed since he looked exceptionally young, but Earles recently admitted on the "Best of Both Our Worlds" podcast that he lied about his age to land the part. "I was desperately afraid that I was going to be fired and recast because I had a big secret," Earles explained. "When I auditioned for the show, I lied to them and told them I was 18 years old." The executives found out about halfway through the first season but kept him on. They also learned he was married at the time, and someone suggested he hold off on having kids for a while. 

Many "Hannah Montana" fans were probably none the wiser until Earles revealed the truth. Earles is just one of many actors who have lied about their ages to get parts, so it's proof that sometimes lying is the best move. And Jackson Stewart remains Earles' most iconic roles, but he hasn't been slouching in recent years. Here's what he's been up to since "Hannah Montana" ended in 2011. 

For many of the younger actors on "Hannah Montana," the show may have been their first big break. But Jason Earles, who was older than he said he was, already had a decent filmography under his belt. It seems like the Disney executives didn't bother checking out his other works, which included parts in "National Treasure" and "American Pie Presents: Band Camp." But his youthful appearance made him a good fit for "Hannah Montana," and he rode that success into a litany of other projects.

He plays one of the humans, Jack, in the dog-centric "Super Buddies," but for the most part, he stayed around Disney in the years after "Hannah Montana" ended. Fibbing about his age didn't seem to burn any bridges. In 2011, he joined the main cast of "Kickin' It" as Rudy, the clueless yet well-intentioned sensei at the Bobby Wasabi Martial Arts Academy. 

Later, he'd have a guest role on "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" as camp director Dewey Wood. While the show introduced a lot of newfound talent, including future pop megastar Olivia Rodrigo, it was also an opportunity to bring back a lot of former Disney stars. In addition to Earles, the series also featured Corbin Bleu from "High School Musical" and Meg Donnelly from "Zombies." The show also includes some meta references to "Hannah Montana." It's one of the many things only adults would notice on "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" where the camp director mysteriously resembles Miley Stewart's older brother. 

As mentioned previously, Jason Earles was actually married to Jennifer Earles during his time on "Hannah Montana." But it was something he had to keep on the down-low. It proved to be a problem because he would still be seen out in public with his wife, but no one knew Earles had a wife. 

In the aforementioned podcast episode, Earles provided one awkward anecdote: ""I remember going to dinner with my wife at the time and people coming up and saying, 'You must be so proud of your son.' And I was like, 'Well, all right. Sex is off the table tonight. Thank you. I appreciate that.'" The pair got married in 2002 but eventually divorced in 2013 after "Hannah Montana" had gone off the air. 

Earles would later get together with Katie Drysen, and appropriately enough, he proposed at Disneyland. The pair married in 2017, and several of his "Hannah Montana" co-stars, like Moises Arias and Emily Osment, were at the ceremony. 

The major revelation that Jason Earles lied about his age to get on "Hannah Montana" actually occurred on the inaugural episode of his "Hannah Montana" rewatch podcast, "Best of Both Our Worlds." That's not to be confused with the podcast "Best of Both Worlds," which is about finding balance between work and family. Earles' major revelation was a great way to kickstart what's bound to be a terrific resource for all of the "Hannah Montana" fans out there.

From "NCIS" to "The Office," many cast members like to reflect on their past roles. Earles is joined by Douglas Danger Lieblein, who was a writer and consulting producer on "Hannah Montana," as well as Shannon Flynn, who directed several episodes and worked as a dialogue coach. While the podcast is still in its infancy, there will surely be more headline-making nuggets of information dropping regularly.

It's only a shame that, despite attending the "Hannah Montana: 20th Anniversary Special" premiere, Earles isn't in the special itself (and neither were many other regular cast members). "Entertainment Tonight" asked Earles about the exclusion on the red carpet, and he revealed, "I think the special just sort of evolved into more of a celebration of the journey that Miley's had as an artist, which is well-deserved. She's the whole reason this thing even happened, and everything good in my life has sort of come because of that, so I'm really excited to celebrate her." But if fans want more of Earles, there are 98 episodes of "Hannah Montana" that "Best of Both Our Worlds" has to get through, and this time, he doesn't have to fib about any of it.