Lainey Wilson is at the peak of her singing career. She has major awards aplenty to prove the point. As is the case with many legendary singers like Lady Gaga, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, Elvis Presley, and more, she is branching out into acting. Acting and singing are not that far apart. Both involve storytelling. One gets the job done with lyrics set to music. The other does it with a script.
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Either way, making the transition comes pretty naturally if you are a top-notch vocalist. Moreover, in Wilson's case, she started years ago when she had a Hannah Montana act. The role originated by Miley Cyrus marks its 20th anniversary this year. Wilson is now looking back at the beloved role and weighing her options as a thespian.
Wilson Reflected on Her History as Hannah Montana
There was a gala premiere of the 20th anniversary TV program commemorating two decades of Hannah Montana. At the event, Lainey Wilson shared with EXTRA what the plum role meant to her. She also described how she recreated it. She invested in all the trappings, such as a wig and a portable sound system. Thus the Lainey Wilson version of Hannah came to life.
The "Heart Like a Truck" singer said, "My eighth grade teacher needed somebody to dress up like Hannah Montana and come to her little girl's birthday party. And I went and I bought the wig and I already had the portable sound system. And I dressed up with Hannah Montana. I impersonated her for five years from eighth grade to 12th grade...I would open up, Lainey Wilson would open up the show and then run behind the tree and change into my Hannah Montana get up."
She Is Getting Her Feet Wet on the Big and Small Screens
Wilson just made her film debut in Reminders of Him. She also has a Netflix documentary about the trajectory of her life and career coming out on April 22. Seems like she really is drawn to acting.
Wilson confided to EXTRA about being an actress, "Loved it. Loved it. And I'm excited to do more of it. I mean, honestly, like songwriting, you get to kind of like step into other people's shoes and tell a story from that perspective. And that's kind of how I felt with this."
