- Newlyweds Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth first met on the set of Disney teen drama The Last Song, which premiered in 2010. They starred opposite each other as love interests.
- Another actor was originally cast as Miley's love interest, but things didn't work out and Hemsworth got the role.
- Cyrus and Hemsworth wed in December 2018 after almost a decade together.
Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth's love story started on the set of The Last Song, but that almost didn't happen due to casting decisions. Another actor was originally cast in the role opposite Cyrus in the 2010 teen romance film, Hemsworth revealed in his Sunday Today interview with Willie Geist.
"Originally, they cast another kid and it didn't work out with him," Hemsworth said. "My agent calls me, whispering, he's like, 'Alright you've got to go to Disney right now. It's not working out with the other guy. You've got to go in and read with Miley again.'"
It seems the casting directors were happy with Liam's return. "I come in and everyone starts clapping. They're like, 'We should've gone with you first!'" Hemsworth recalled.
The Last Song role marked a turning point in the actor's career. Before that, he'd had smaller TV roles in his native Australia, according to Geist. (He even auditioned for the role of Thor, which ultimately went to his older brother, Chris.)
"[The Last Song] was the first job I got, and it was literally right at the end of my three-month visa," the youngest Hemsworth said.
Looking back on his journey since the film, the actor reflected: "It's sort of weird how it all kind of comes together and ten years later I'm here, married."
Hemsworth and Cyrus tied the knot at an intimate, at-home ceremony in Tennessee in late December after nearly 10 years together. There are limited photos of top-secret nuptials on social media, although Miley did share a few more images in honor of Valentine's Day yesterday.
"We just try to keep as much of it private as we can," Hemsworth said. "I feel really happy and really fortunate to be with such a great person."
He added of the wedding, per Today, "It was a really special day."
Miley previously talked about Hemsworth's Last Song casting in an interview with Seventeen in 2009:
"So I heard a rumor that he didn't really want the role, and so when he came in to audition for the role, I'm thinking, 'Here's this guy, he's amazingly good-looking, super-confident, and he doesn't realize how blessed he is to be in this room, because I know how blessed I am. This is such a big opportunity for both of us.' And I was thinking, 'Ugh, gross,' you know? Then I started talking with him, and he was just the most genuinely precious, sweet person."
By the time of the second audition, Miley recalled, their "chemistry was instant."
Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she's listening to Lorde right now.
