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Disney Channel launched the careers of dozens of notable actors, giving superstars-in-the-making leading roles in popular family sitcoms. The network is responsible for the rise to fame of award-winning pop stars like Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus and Hollywood elite like Zac Efron and Shia LaBeouf.
Not every young Disney performer was lucky enough to score roles like Hannah Montana or Troy Bolton. Some began their magical careers with the channel as minor characters, with small, recurring roles, cameos, and sometimes even scrapped TV shows before breaking out into their inevitable starring roles.
Brenda Song
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While most remember Brenda Song as the rich and ditzy London Tipton on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, the actress appeared in several Disney Channel shows and movies during her time with the network.
Song's first Disney sitcom stint was on a 2003 episode of That's So Raven, where she played Raven's classmate Amber. The appearance led to Song being cast in a recurring role on Phil of the Future, then landing the role of London Tipton for six years on Suite Life and Suite Life on Deck.
David Henrie
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Aside from his series-long stint as Ted Mosby's son on How I Met Your Mother, David Henrie is best known for playing Justin Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place and its subsequent Disney Channel Original Movie.
Henrie made his Disney Channel debut on a different sitcom: That's So Raven. Henrie played Larry, a recurring character who was best friends with Cory, usually getting caught up in Cory's money-making schemes.
Alyson Stoner
Alyson Stoner danced her way around Disney Channel for a decade, with a lead role as Caitlyn in the Camp Rock movies and voicing Isabella on Phineas and Ferb. The triple-threat was even set to star in her own sitcom titled Better Days before landing a recurring role on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
Stoner first stepped her way onto the screen in what was technically a lead role, but a "super short" one. Mike's Super Short Show aired on Disney Channel during commercial breaks from 2001-2007 and starred Stoner as Sally, who talked all things Disney VHS and DVD releases with her brother Mike.
Bridgit Mendler
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Bridgit Mendler rose to fame for starring as Teddy Duncan in Good Luck Charlie and its accompanying Christmas film. Mendler later starred as Olivia White in the 2011 DCOM Lemonade Mouth alongside singer-actresses Naomi Scott and Hayley Kiyoko.
Mendler is used to working with pop stars, however, appearing in the pilot episode of The Jonas Brothers' hit sitcom Jonas where she played Penny, Nick Jonas' love interest.
China Anne McClain
At just 13 years old, China Anne McClain scored the leading role of Chyna Parks in A.N.T. Farm, and not too long after that threw on the sea-green dreads to play Ursula's daughter Uma in Descendants 2 and Descendent 3.
These were far from McClain's first Disney stints. The young actress had a cameo in Wizards of Waverly Place, a two-episode recurring role in Jonas, and her first-ever Disney Channel gig in Hannah Montana as Isabel, a lucky fan who gets to ask Hannah a question at a live Q&A.
Raini Rodriguez
While her little brother was making it big over on Modern Family, Raini Rodriguez was making it big on Disney Channel. Rodriguez played Trish on Austin and Ally for four seasons alongside Ross Lynch and Laura Marano.
The actress made her Disney sitcom debut as Betsy in a third season episode of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and as Arlene in two episodes of Disney XD's I'm in the Band before landing her main role on Austin and Ally.
Meaghan Martin
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Meaghan Martin has a long list of Disney gigs under her belt that includes TV stints, discography, voicing video game characters, and starring as Tess Tyler in the DCOMs Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2.
Before she was a singing rival to Demi Lovato's Mitchie, Martin made an appearance in an episode of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody alongside fellow Disney Channel newcomer Raini Rodriguez.
Sabrina Carpenter
This actress-singer-dancer is best known for her pop-rock hits and Netflix film Work It rose to stardom thanks to the Disney Channel show Girl Meets World. Sabrina Carpenter starred as Maya Hart in the Boy Meets World reboot, the Shawn Hunter-esque best friend to Cory and Topanga's daughter Riley.
Carpenter's first taste of Disney was in a 2012 voice role in two Phineas and Ferb episodes, credited simply as "Girl," and a cameo in a 2013 episode of Austin and Ally as aspiring singer Lucy Gluckman.
Selena Gomez
Before she was a Grammy-nominated pop sensation, Selena Gomez's career launched with her leading role as Alex Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place. It led the actress to guest-starring on Sonny with a Chance, Suite Life on Deck and So Random!, as well as starring in two hit DCOMs.
Gomez's earliest role on Disney Channel was as Gwen on an episode of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and later appeared in three episodes of Hannah Montana as Hannah's music rival Mikayla before securing her magical leading role.
Corbin Bleu
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Despite performing since he was 2 years old, Corbin Bleu became an overnight sensation as Chad Danforth in High School Musical and its sequel films. And while HSM was technically his Disney Channel debut, the actor filmed a guest-star stint on an up-and-coming sitcom before the movie aired.
Bleu appeared as Miley's crush Johnny Collins in the pilot episode of Hannah Montana, which premiered only two months after High School Musical. Interestingly, Bleu recorded a duet with Hannah Montana, and Hannah's portrayer Miley Cyrus later won a fan-voted cameo in High School Musical 2.