As a student at Kell High School in Marietta, Lucas Till would host a weekly morning talent show called "Steak Knife" with Ryan Seacrest flair for an audience of 2,000 students.
Now 18 and nearly a year removed from graduation, he's about to be seen by millions of tweens as Miley Cyrus' love interest in "Hannah Montana: The Movie," opening Friday.
"No one's recognized me — yet," Till said Monday during a stop on his press tour at the W Hotel in Buckhead.
Six months removed from Atlanta and now a Los Angeles resident, he said he's not quite sure he's ready for TMZ to start picking on him. When warned that dating starlets might fuel paparazzi-level attention, he said he couldn't rule out dating an actress because "they know what I'm going through."
For now, he's single. "Hopefully," he added, with a chuckle, "not for long."
How Till was discovered: Joy Pervis, a local agent who helped discover Dakota Fanning and Raven Symone, saw Till at a talent expo at the Mall of Georgia when he was 10 years old.
"She had this impressed look on her face," he said. He'd just done a monologue in which he thought he was cool, but his fly was open.
His first gig: A model for a Goody's Family Clothing catalog. "We went into a Goody's and picked up a stack of them. Everyone was staring!"
His first commercial: "It was a video game for 'Harry Potter.' I had to sit there and pretend I was playing it. Good thing I love video games!"
Why he chose acting: "When I was 10, I was much smaller than everybody else. I was too small to play sports at the time, so I tried acting instead."
His reaction to getting the "Hannah Montana" role: "I screamed into the phone, dropped it, then did a backflip. I hurt myself."
His familiarity with the "Hannah Montana" show: "I'd see my younger brother watching the show. It wasn't my demographic. I thought it was funny. I've only seen one full episode. I didn't get too deep. I was already intimidated going into a movie like this."
His impressions of Cyrus: "It was awesome to get to know her. She's one of my sweetest friends. If I wasn't friends with her, I'd be missing out."
Rumors of romance with Cyrus: "Nope. She's got a boyfriend."
Singing talent? "I'm not gifted that way. If I had to sing, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."
Most embarrassing moment: "During the end credits, they have everyone doing this throw-down hoedown. Just watching myself dance is embarrassing. It took three to four hours for me to learn it with one-on-one help. Most of the kids in the movie, it took maybe 15 minutes!"
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