Top 10 Celebs Who Were Almost Disney Channel Stars
#10: Cassie Steele
Steele is mostly recognized for her work on “Degrassi: The Next Generation” as Manny Santos. But what fans might not remember is that she had a role in the 2003 Disney Channel Original Movie “Full-Court Miracle”, where she played Julie. She certainly made an impression, since she then got to audition for the role of Gabriella Montez in “High School Musical”. Not only that, she actually got the part! So why didn’t fans see her grace their screens as the charming female lead of one of Disney Channel’s most successful franchises? Well, you can thank scheduling conflicts for that. The movie’s production schedule overlapped with “Degrassi”’s. As we all know, Vanessa Hudgens ultimately got the part and did a stellar job with it.
#9: Taylor Lautner
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Lautner cemented his place in pop culture as the usually shirtless and somewhat controversial werewolf from the Twilight movies. But whether you’re Team Edward or Team Jacob, you’ll probably be shocked to learn that he almost played Demi Lovato’s love interest in “Camp Rock”. That’s right: Lautner auditioned for the part of Shane Gray. Instead of playing one third of a vampire/human/werewolf love triangle, he almost brought one third of a boy band to life on-screen. Needless to say, we have a few questions: what does Taylor Lautner’s singing voice even sound like? Who would the other members of Connect 3 have been? Of course, Joe Jonas ended up playing Shane, with brothers and real-life bandmates Nick and Kevin rounding out the trio in the film.
#8: Sammi Hanratty
She’s probably best known for playing Chrissa in the 2009 film “An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong”. But Hanratty has a Disney Channel connection. She snagged a few smaller parts on the network, like her multi-episode arc as Holly on “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody”. So it makes sense that Hanratty would then go out for a lead role. That’s what she did when she auditioned for the part of Teddy Duncan in “Good Luck Charlie”. The show went in a different direction and eventually cast Bridgit Mendler in the role. But that didn’t stop Sammi from pursuing her acting career. In fact, you might recognize her from her stint as Kassidi on “Shameless”, or as Violet in “The Vampire Diaries”, to name a few.
#7: Sara Paxton
It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Hilary Duff as the ultra-relatable Lizzie McGuire. But there were actually multiple other starlets who were considered for the part. One of them is Paxton, who was reportedly a serious contender. And while this casting scenario didn’t come together, she did actually guest-star in an episode titled “Election”, where Lizzie runs for class president. Paxton played Holly, the incumbent! And despite missing out on bringing the now-iconic Lizzie to life, the actress still did pretty well for herself. She was one of the coolest mermaids ever in “Aquamarine” after all!
#6: Ariel Winter
Not many people know that “Sonny with a Chance” went through a lot of conceptual changes before becoming the comedy we all know and love today. Most notably, there was reportedly a version of the show being thought up where Sonny had siblings who accompanied her to Hollywood. Ariel Winter was going to play her little sister before the show decided to take things in a different direction. But the actress found plenty of other projects that earned her recognition. She brought Alex Dunphy to life for over a decade on “Modern Family”, and was the voice of Princess Sofia on “Sofia The First”. Thankfully, viewers got to see her incredible range and talent through projects such as these.
#5: Taylor Momsen
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She starred in “Gossip Girl” as the polarizing Jenny Humphrey, and is the lead singer of “The Pretty Reckless”. But Momsen almost landed a role that required a different kind of transformation than the one Little J goes through: that of Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana. And while it would’ve allowed her to show off her singing and acting chops, she has repeatedly spoken about being glad she didn’t get the part. She has said: “Honestly, if I’d have ended up as Hannah Montana, I don’t know if the show would have gone as well. I probably would have told them all to go f**k themselves by the time I hit 11”. She even once called Disney “pathetic”. It sounds like things worked out for the best.
#4: Matthew Underwood
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He won over pre-teen hearts everywhere as Logan, the bad boy who's secretly actually a decent person on “Zoey 101”. Yet Underwood was almost in “High School Musical” as none other than Troy Bolton himself! He was actually cast in the part instead of Zac Efron. Apparently, because of his Nickelodeon contract, he had no choice but to pass up the chance to play the singing basketball player. We can’t deny that Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens’ romance dominated much of pop culture news back then, so it’s crazy to think how different everything would have been had they both missed out on these roles.
#3: Naya Rivera
Naya Rivera made waves for years for her undeniable acting skill playing Santana Lopez on “Glee”. So it’s no secret that she had a voice like no other. It’s not surprising, then, that she was almost cast in not one but two musical Disney Channel Original Movies. She revealed in her memoir “Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up” that she was almost a main character in “The Cheetah Girls”! And that’s not all. She also recalled nearly getting the role of Gabriella Montez in “High School Musical”. While neither opportunity panned out in the end, Rivera consistently proved she was a powerhouse. She was a star, just not a Disney one.
#2: JoJo
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There was a time where “Leave (Get Out)” and “Too Little Too Late” were played nearly everywhere you went. JoJo was making waves and topping charts, getting everyone’s attention in the process. With her effortlessly cool style and undeniable vocal skills, she was impossible to ignore. That explains why the creators of “Hannah Montana” had her in mind for the lead role. But she turned down the part, and has no qualms over her decision. She got to maintain a certain level of control over her career that wouldn’t necessarily have been possible had she entered the Disney universe. And JoJo is still creating music today. In 2020 alone, she released a new album titled “good to know” as well as a holiday record called “December Baby”.
#1: Lindsay Lohan
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Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan were two of the biggest pop icons of the early 2000s. So it stands to reason that they often ended up in the same rooms, figuratively speaking. That’s what happened when “Lizzie McGuire” was being cast. While Duff ended up playing Lizzie, the part almost went to Lohan. This was before endless stories and rumors about a feud between the two began, so it seems their stories intertwined far before anyone realized. Hilary went on to become the girl next door, while Lindsay’s image took an edgier turn. But both starlets made quite a name for themselves through a substantial body of work, both in the music and acting industries.
