Miley Cyrus 'happy' for romance to be public knowledge

Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth at US screening of The Last Song

Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus has said she's happy for her relationship with actor Liam Hemsworth to be public knowledge.

The pair play the romantic lead roles in new film The Last Song and the 17-year-old has no problem with it being in the spotlight.

"I think it makes it easier," she said. "I've been in relationships before where people don't want people to know because it's bad for their career (but) I'd rather not sneak around - it's so much more drama than is necessary.

"It's like, 'Yes, we're together. Let us live our lives'. It's easier because you're not trying to sneak around, otherwise it's news everytime you're seen together."

The ash cloud meant Cyrus couldn't make her film's European debut

However, Cyrus did admit their relationship was still in the early stages when they had to shoot some of the film's romantic scenes: "You've got to be super-pro. No one really knew we were together at the time so we just kept it professional."

The Last Song is about a girl who spends the summer with her divorced dad in a quiet beach town. And among other twists and turns ends up getting together with Hemsworth's character, Will.

The star was disappointed to miss the European premiere of the movie because of the ash cloud, but says that concentrating on her big screen career is where her priorities now lie.

"I had such a good time and it inspired me to do more, so definitely I want to do more films," said the Nashville-born actress and singer.

Nude scenes

Cyrus admits picking her roles carefully though, so not to alienate the younger fans who know her from Disney's hit Hannah Montana series.

"The next film I'm doing is a French film called LOL... It's Demi Moore and I - it's really edgy...

"But I'll also do a fun film afterwards for all my fans, but if a cool film comes up that may seem a little old for my normal fans then I'm not going to pass it up."

The multi-talented star's transition from a teen idol looks inevitable and she even told Newsbeat she wouldn't rule out doing nude scenes if the role was right. "It depends what the film is," she said.

"If it's something that's classy - it just depends on the circumstances."

The Last Song is out in UK cinemas on Friday 30 April.