10 Fun Facts About ‘The Last Song’ You May Have Not Known About the Film

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10 Fun Facts About ‘The Last Song’ You May Have Not Known About the Film

It’s been a decade since The Last Song first hit theaters on March 31, 2010 — and a lot has changed for both Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth. The singer-songwriter and the Hunger Games actor met (and fell in love) while filming the movie in Georgia 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,’” Cyrus told Seventeen magazine in December 2009. “And I was thinking, 'Ugh, gross,' you know? Then I started talking with him, and he was just the most genuinely precious, sweet person. And the second audition comes around, and the chemistry was instant.” She added: “From the time he walked in that door and we saw each other again, we [both] lit up, and we were excited to get work and learn together." Hemsworth and Cyrus tied the knot in December 2018 after dating on and off since the production of the movie. "[The Last Song] was the first job I got, and it was literally right at the end of my three-month visa,” Hemsworth recalled in February 2019. "It's sort of weird how it all kind of comes together and 10 years later I'm here, married." Less than eight months after their private nuptials at their Nashville home, however, Cyrus and Hemsworth announced their split. “Liam and Miley have agreed to separate at this time,” Cyrus’ rep said in a statement to Us Weekly in August 2019. “Ever-evolving, changing as partners and individuals, they have decided this is what’s best while they both focus on themselves and careers. They still remain dedicated parents to all of their animals they share while lovingly taking this time apart.” While their divorce was finalized in January 2020, fans of the romance movie will always be able to revisit Ronnie (Cyrus) and Will’s (Hemsworth) love story in the Nicholas Sparks film. Scroll through for 10 fun facts about the movie:

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Rafi Gavron Was the Original Will

Before Hemsworth landed the role, Gavron was offered to part of Will first.

"That was the first job I got [in the U.S.], and it was literally right at the end of my three-month visa. They cast another kid, and it didn't work out with him," Hemsworth recalled on the Today show in 2019. "My agent calls me like, whispering, like, '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.' I come in and everyone starts clapping like, 'We should have gone with you first!’”

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Bobby Coleman Played Matchmaker for Cyrus and Hemsworth

Coleman played Ronnie’s younger brother in the movie, but he also had Cyrus’ back on set.

“He is probably one of the most hysterical kids I’ve met in my life,” the singer revealed on Good Morning America in 2010. “This kid will do anything for five bucks. By the end he literally had a receipt for me. It was like $80. I paid him 10 bucks to go ask Liam if he liked me. I sent him back and forth. It was really funny.”

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Nicholas Sparks Wrote the Book As a Vehicle for Cyrus

The author was open about writing the novel as a vehicle to make the movie for Cyrus.

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Cyrus Picked Ronnie’s Name

As a result, the Disney star was able to name the character and opted for “Ronnie” to pay tribute to her late grandfather.

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Cyrus Learned Piano for the Part

“The piano was hard. I would get nervous — I was like — am I doing it the way you are supposed to?" she told MTV News in 2010. "I had to be classically trained as well. Sitting up straight, and your wrists have to be a certain way and you have to look comfortable and look like you could be accepted into Juilliard, the way that Ronnie was supposed to."

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Cyrus Worked With a Dialect Coach to Lose Her Accent

The actress also worked with a coach to drop her southern twang.

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The Movie Was Originally Going to Be Filmed in North Carolina

Before they settled on Tybee Island, Georgia, The Last Song was originally going to be filmed in North Carolina. Several movie adaptations of Sparks’ films have taped in North Carolina.

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Hemsworth Didn’t Know How Famous Cyrus Was

While Cyrus was well-established in the U.S., the Australian actor wasn’t familiar with the Hannah Montana star’s success. “When I came in, I didn’t know how big a star she really was,” he said in press conference in 2010. “I had seen the show a few times, but I had no idea how big Miley Cyrus was. I guess that was good because I didn’t get nervous about how big she was. So, I went in and read with her, and it was really good. She was amazing to work with.”

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Hemsworth Lied About Knowing How to Play Volleyball

“Volleyball was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Before we started shooting, they asked me, ‘Do you play volleyball?,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, no problem,’” Hemsworth told reporters in 2019. “And, I turned up for the first day of volleyball practice and I was honestly really scared to shoot the volleyball part because it takes a lot of skills to play that game and I didn’t have them, at all. … We had days where it was just us, and we were playing pretty good against extras who hadn’t played before. We looked OK then. But, we had a day where we had 300 extras there, watching us play against professional volleyball players, and they made us look stupid.”

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Hemsworth Had to Learn How to Scuba Dive

The actor also got his scuba diving certification for the film.