Remember Rico from Hannah Montana? You won't believe what the actor looks like now

Daily Mail​

09-06-2025

Moises Arias was skyrocketed into the spotlight when he starred as the troublemaker Rico in the beloved Disney Channel series Hannah Montana in the early 2000s.
But now, nearly two decades after the show premiered, the actor looks so different from his Disney days.
Moises, now 31, was cast in the Miley Cyrus-lead series in 2006 when he was only 12 years old.
He played Rico Suave, a rich genius who manages Rico's Surf Shop - the beach concession stand that Miley's older brother Jackson works at.
The two would sometimes feud and other times get into trouble together, making for a pretty epic duo.
The actor started as a supporting role in the first season, but his character was so popular he was promoted to the main cast for its second season.
He continued to star Rico for all four Hannah Montana seasons before it came to an end in 2011.
But now, flash forward 14 years later, and Moises is practically unrecognizable.
In a recent selfie shared to Instagram, the former Disney star sported some scruffy facial hair and a much-shorter hairstyle.
Moises made his acting debut in 2006 in the movie Nacho Libre.
He also had a brief appearance in the show The Suite Life of Zack and Cody before he landed his breakout role in Hannah Montana.
The show followed teen Miley Stewart who was secretly living a double life - some days she was a normal middle school student but other days she was pop sensation Hannah Montana.
Hiding her true identity - which was concealed by a blonde wig - from her classmates often put her in tricky situations.
It also starred Billy Ray Cyrus, Emily Osment, Mitchel Musso, and Jason Earles.
After the show turned Moises into a sensation practically overnight, he went on to star in a slew of big movies and shows.
He acted in the film Beethoven's Big Break, the drama The Perfect Game, the comedy Noobz, the coming-of-age film The Kings of Summer, sci-fi flick Ender's Game, historical drama Ben-Hur, Pitch Perfect 3, the comedy Little B***hes, Five Feet Apart, crime drama American Murderer, and superhero movie Samaritan, amongst other things.
Most recently, he played Norm MacLean in the wildly popular TV show Fallout, based off the video game of the same name.
Over the years, Moises also dabbled in directing, working on a series of YouTube films with his brother, Mateo Arias, under the name Moiswashere.
He also co-founded a fashion brand with his brother, Jaden Smith, and Willow Smith in 2012 called MSFTSrep.
He is now also a photographer, and often shares his photos to his Instagram, where he has over 800,000 followers.
Back in 2014 he became embroiled in scandal after a photo was shared to social media that showed a then-20-year-old shirtless Moises lying on a bed with a fully-clothed 13-year-old Willow.
At the time, reports emerged that said Willow's parents Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith were being investigation by child protective services over the controversial snap.
Jada defended the image at the time, saying there was 'nothing sexual about it.' All parties were later cleared.
Jada later recalled her rage over the ordeal, explaining her on her Red Table Talk show in 2019, 'That was the first time I ever got furious.'
'I was looking at the [CPS] lady and the whole time I was thinking, "You could be helping so many kids right now,"' Willow added of the social worker. 'And you're wasting your time with a child who has everything they need.'
'The woman that was on our case, she was a nice lady,' Jada said. 'She knew.'