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A teenage heartthrob extraordinaire on movie screens during the mid- to late 2000s, fair-haired Cody Linley actually undertook one of his first forays into cinema as a preadolescent. He played the aptly named Spit McGee, a bully who harasses the protagonist, in Jay W. Russell's nostalgic coming-of-age drama My Dog Skip (2000). A lead followed in John Schultz's offbeat comedy When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (2003), as did prominent billing in Hoot (2006), a family-oriented adventure about a group of teens who attempt to save some rare owls. Linley achieved broadest recognition, however, for his portrayal of Jake Ryan, opposite Miley Cyrus, in the second season of the blockbuster sitcom Hannah Montana. He competed in the 7th season of Dancing With the Stars in 2008 and followed that up with the horror film Forget Me Not and the drama The Playroom.