Billy Ray Cyrus To Star In The Hallmark Movie "Christmas In Canaan"

"Achy Breaky Heart" singer Billy Ray Cyrus is set to star in a new Hallmark Channel Original Movie "Christmas in Canaan" on December 12.

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The TV movie will see Miley Cyrus' dad play Daniel Burton, the father of one of a pair of squabbling boys who are brought together through unlikely circumstances in Canaan, Texas during the '60s.

Cyrus, 48, who tasted country music stardom back in the '90s, recalls how he called back Hallmark to read the script after initially turning the part down. He said he remembered his father telling him to emulate country music legend Kenny Rogers' success and try acting.

When he began reading the script, coincidences began to pile up, as if they were clues left for him to take the part. Not only that, the story itself made him cry, as the character he was being asked to play reminded him of his own father, who died in 2006.

He said, "I feel like this character I'm playing, Daniel, was my dad. Really and truly. It's like I'm able to honor him on this role. And that's a bigger thrill than I can say. I also get to sing the theme song for it. And it was just an amazing shoot, giving me a really challenging role to sink my teeth into and more depth than I was used to as an actor."

Cyrus currently stars as the father of Miley's onscreen character in the Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana." He also starred in the 2001 David Lynch film "Mulholland Drive."