For former child stars, there are basically two ways to ditch your youthful image and force audiences to see you in another, more grown-up light.
The first involves scandals, naked photos, court dates, drugs, rehab, endless clubbing — pretty much what Lindsay Lohan calls “Wednesday.”
The second route is less headline-worthy but probably more rewarding and sustainable, and that’s to do interesting grown-up work.
For six years until 2011, Moises Arias played Rico on the Disney tween sitcom “Hannah Montana.” Now, at age 19, Arias is about to embark in a different, more adult direction, and he’s got a potentially breakout year ahead.
First up is “The Kings of Summer,” a bittersweet, coming-of-age comedy about three teenagers who run away from home for the summer and decide to live together in a makeshift house they build in the woods.
Arias plays Biaggio, the twitchy, oddball friend to Nick Robinson’s lovestruck introvert and Gabriel Basso’s handsome jock. Arias’ character speaks almost exclusively in non sequiturs and might be the strangest on-screen teen since “Napoleon Dynamite.”
In one scene, someone mentions snakes, to which Biaggio intensely replies, “In Italian, the word for ‘snake’ means ‘the demon’s [penis].’ ” When told that it doesn’t, he responds with a deadpan, “There’s a chance that it doesn’t.”
“This year, I’m very excited for what’s coming out,” Arias tells The Post. “I’m very interested in character acting, not just taking any role. I’d rather find that Biaggio in every script and challenge myself every time.”
“The Kings of Summer” was shot in the small town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio — a long way from Los Angeles where Arias lives.
“I was in Chagrin Falls for a month, and I went to the Barnes and Noble all the time because there was nothing else,” Arias says.
The actor did keep himself occupied by staying in character for fun. He liked visiting the Starbucks and ordering as Biaggio.
“They were thrown off a lot. Actually, they were kind of scared,” he says. “I like black coffee, so I would be mystical with it. I would go up to the counter wide-eyed, look around, and say, ‘Gimme some of that devil’s drink.’ It was just anything ridiculous that popped into my head.”
Arias was born in Queens and lived there until his family moved to the Atlanta suburbs when he was a toddler. His mother got him into acting.
“I was really shy when I was younger,” he says. “With people I didn’t know, I wouldn’t ask questions or ask where the bathroom is. So my mom got me into an acting class to see if it would help me being in front of an audience.”
An acting teacher later suggested he try his luck in Los Angeles, so he, his brother and mother moved to the West Coast for a three-month trial. They’ve been there ever since.
Arias says it’s been relatively easy not to be typecast as he gets older. He also snagged a prime role as
Bonzo in the big-budget sci-fi film “Ender’s Game,” out in November.
“It’s just a matter of breaking out of the child acting habits,” he says. “Casting directors and directors don’t really care where you’re coming from as long as you’re dedicated to the project and prepared.”
One challenge Arias does face is his boyish looks and small stature. He’s just 5-foot-1.
“Let’s be real. I don’t know anybody who’s like me in that way,” he says. “It both helps and makes it difficult to get roles. The help is once I’m attached to a project, it gives it a little flavor and changes it up a little bit from the norm.”
Since moving to LA, Arias seems to have befriended every famous teen in town. He’s tight with Will Smith’s son Jaden, whom he met at a mutual friend’s birthday party, and he also hangs with Justin Bieber. And he is rumored to be dating Kardashian sister Kylie Jenner; Arias insists he’s single.
The actor says his famous friends are no big deal.
“We just hang out and do teenage stuff,” he says. “Go to In-N-Out Burger, go to the beach and hang out at people’s houses. We skateboard. But at the same time, we try and advance ourselves so we can be successful in the future.”
That future includes learning to direct. Arias has made a bunch of short films with his brother that are on YouTube. He’s also directed music videos for Jaden Smith.
One worry he doesn’t currently have is money. Arias says his parents safeguarded the cash he made on “Hannah Montana.”
“I did buy myself a car, but they didn’t let me buy whatever I wanted,” he says. “They never let me believe that I had a crazy amount of money or [that I was] better than anyone else. I still had to do my chores.”
If he has the kind of year that’s expected, the days of taking out the trash are probably over.
reed.tucker@nypost.com