A Love Song For Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus is “bombed” her trip to London was cancelled, due to the infamous cloud of Icelandic ash.

The 17-year-old was looking forward to attending the UK premiere of her latest film, The Last Song, before heading over to Rome.

Instead, she’s stuck in Los Angeles, where we are doing the interview, with co-star – and now boyfriend – Liam Hemsworth beside her, distracting her by making her laugh throughout.

The couple, who play lovers on screen, met as they filmed the tear-jerker movie in Tybee Island, off the US coast of Georgia, although romantic sparks didn’t fly immediately.

“We had been filming for a couple of weeks and I think the more you hang out, the more you get to know each other. We kind of grew into it,” she reveals.

Without pausing, Cyrus adds: “We weren’t 100 percent a couple until the end of the film. We were hanging out and I guess we were kind of dating but there wasn’t ever a moment where we thought, ’Yeah, we’re together’.”

While you won’t catch her saying the L-word, the Nashville-born entertainer - who speaks at rapid-fire speed and peppers her conversation with words such as ’like’ and ’cool’ – is happy to gush about her latest boyfriend.

“I got really lucky working with someone I enjoy being around. I’m super blessed to have had amazing people in my life,” she reveals.

“I think the best part is just hanging out with a friend and that’s what him and I are – it’s a real friendship. We’ve always been kind of what we are now.”

Refreshingly for Cyrus, the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, Hemsworth wasn’t aware of her fame from Disney Channel phenomenon that is Hannah Montana.

“I guess that’s kind of the cool part about him and his friends. They’re like a bunch of 20-year-old guys so if they were watching my show all the time, I’d be like, ’OK, you guys are super weird’,” she says. “It’s cool working with someone seeing me for me, where everyone else knows you for what they see on TV and my show.”

Likewise, she knew next to nothing about the 20-year-old Australian or his previous appearances in Australian soaps Neighbours and Home And Away before he moved to Hollywood.

“I didn’t actually know anything. The coolest part about working with someone you don’t know means you have to learn about them, not just their life, but you get to know their character a little bit more,” she says.

“And he wasn’t like, ’Oh great, here’s that chick from Hannah Montana trying to be a real actress’, it was just like working with any other actress. But I might YouTube him later!” she adds, bursting out into giggles.

The Last Song is a departure for Cyrus, as she makes her debut in a feature film outside of the Hannah Montana franchise. It’s an decisive attempt to break away from the character she has played for more than five years.

“Definitely. I want people to see me in a different light from what they see on the show but I think it will take people a second to see me as just Miley Cyrus and not always Hannah Montana,” she says.

Her character, impertinent teen Ronnie, was penned especially for her by author Nicholas Sparks, whose other novels have been adapted into films, such as The Notebook, Nights In Rodanthe and Dear John (currently starring Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum).

Sparks gave her a generous amount of input.

“Nicholas Sparks was so cool to work with, and he wrote the character with all my characteristics in mind so that was really cool, and it was a little bit easier to do but it also made it more fun. So that was awesome,” she says.

“He asked me if I wanted this and that to be in the movie and I said yes, but I didn’t necessarily want to go with the easy route – you know, ’I’m Miley Cyrus, let’s make me sing’.”

Cyrus has certainly timed it right. She is currently shooting the final episodes for Hannah Montana, which is ending after four award-winning seasons.

“We’re done after this season so we’ve got about three more episodes. We’re getting close,” she explains.

“I’m sure we all will get emotional. I’ve been doing it since I was 11, so it’s a huge chapter in my life, but I’ve got a lot more to do and I’m excited about moving onto new things.”

She adds: “It’s going to be hard, leaving that Hannah security blanket behind. I love that part of my life but I think it will be good for all of us and bring a lot of new things.”

Cyrus, who has been in the middle of controversies including pregnancy rumours, racism allegations, and a raunchy photo scandal, seems like she has grown up and her future certainly looks bright.

As well as releasing her third album, I Can’t Be Tamed, on Tuesday June 22, she’s due to start shooting LOL, a comedy with Demi Moore, and has a cameo appearance as herself in the Sex And The City sequel, released on Friday May 28.

“I have a super, super small role but I still can’t wait to go to the premiere because it’s one of my favourite movies,” she says of SATC: The Movie 2.

“I love the show so I was super stoked when I heard they wanted me to be a part of it. It was amazing. They – Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Kim Cattrall and Cynthia Nixon – are all so sweet and so fun to be around. I love them. Sarah Jessica Parker is my style icon so it was really fun to meet her and work with her.”

With the film offers flying in, it’s little surprise Cyrus plans to take a break from the small screen.

“I’m probably not going to do much more TV after Hannah Montana. I love movies so I can’t wait to continue to do that,” she says.

“I’d just like to continue making films. It’s what I really love to do and it’s my main passion. I love music and I’m excited about the next record, but film is what I’m really looking forward to so I can’t wait to continue to grow.”