This is my breakout moment, says Miley Cyrus

New Delhi: Hollywood`s teen sensation Miley Cyrus says she accepted the movie "The Last Song" because she wanted to break away from the "Hannah Montana" image. "This (`The Last Song`) is my breakout moment, away from `Hannah Montana`. It was harder than anything else I`ve done. There`s no way to be Smiley Miley all the time, then go into a role that`s so heavy. I think it`s really important to look for roles that are challenging," she said in an e-mail interaction from Los Angeles.

"At first it was a little intimidating because it`s such a big step for me. But I was very excited. May be a little anxious too because I wanted to make sure that I portray Ronnie (character in the movie) completely differently from Hannah Montana," she added. "The Last Song" also had many firsts for the 17-year-old. "I had to learn to speak without my accent, which is something I`ve never had to really do before," said Miley who also learnt to play the piano for the role. Based on Nicholas Sparks` latest novel by the same name, "The Last Song" also stars Liam Hemsworth, Bobby Coleman, Kelly Preston and Greg Kinnear. "The Last Song" opened in the US March 31 and is releasing in India May 7. Distributed by Touchstone Pictures and DreamWorld Pictures Entertainment, it has been directed by Julie Anne Robinson. Set in a small southern beach town, the movie is about an estranged father who gets a chance to spend the summer with his reluctant teenaged daughter and his effort to reconnect with her through the only thing they have in common - music. "She (her character in the movie) is a little bit bitter about what her life has become. She seems kind of uninterested. And like I think a lot of kids do, she starts doing the opposite of what her parents would want and starts being the person that her parents wouldn`t want their daughter to be." Miley, the daughter of country star Billy Ray Cyrus, shot to stardom after playing schoolgirl-turned-secret pop star in musical "Hannah Montana". Last year she had said she has only one season (the fourth) of the hit show left and that she feels "claustrophobic" because she has "grown out of" the role. Miley was offered "Hannah Montana" when she was just 12 years old, she has released three albums to date - "Meet Miley Cyrus", "Breakout", and "The Time of Our Lives". Her fourth record is titled "I Can`t Be Tamed". Asked if dealing with success at such a young age was ever a burden, Miley said: "I love singing, I love music, I love just entertaining in general, but there are times when the pressure and the stress of it all makes me want to give it up. If I gave it up, look at all the things that I`d be throwing away...Living without music in my life would be like having no air to breathe." But Miley now wants to focus on acting. "I`ve got a record coming out in June and then I`m done. I just want to work in movies. That`s what I like and that`s what I want to be doing," she said. Her future movie projects include a cameo in "Sex and the City 2" and "LOL: Laughing Out Loud" with Demi Moore. IANS