Hannah Montana’s Rico child star Moises Arias is unrecognisable 16 years on from Disney debut

TWO decades have almost passed since Hannah Montana first graced our screens – and some of its cast look completely unrecognisable these days.

The majority of the beloved show’s cast were teen and preteen actors, so it’s understandable that, in the intervening years, they’ve all branched out and made their mark in Hollywood and beyond.

Nowadays, for instance, series lead Miley Cyrus – who played Miley Stewart and her superstar alter ego, Hannah Montana – is as far removed from the character as possible.

One memorable character from the Disney programme was the scheming Rico Suave – portrayed by Moises Arias – who was the eponymous owner of Rico’s Surf Shop.

Post-Disney stardom, Moises, now 27, has grown out of the Rico persona to carve out a career far removed from the surf shop.

Since appearing on the show, Moises has popped up in The Middle, Jean-Claude Van Johnson and The Good Doctor, among others.

While movie-wise, he has featured in Despicable Me 2, Pitch Perfect 3 and The King of Staten Island.

He’s also directed several music videos for buddy Jaden Smith, including Batman, Hello and Blue Ocean. 

In an interview with Comic Book Movie, the former child star opened up about the difficult transition into more adult work. 

He revealed: “I got off Hannah Montana when I was 16 and that’s right in the pocket of whether you’re going to school or not.

“I was stressed out about that and then Kings of Summer came at the right time when I was 18-years-old.”

Despite his demonstrable success, the unfailingly humble star noted: “I’m still figuring it out, I’m still getting experience.

“I think it’s going to continue being a learning process and there are always changes that you’ll have to adapt to as an actor.”