It's been an interesting year for 18-year-old Cody Linley, formerly of Texas, lately of his own bachelor pad in Burbank, Calif.

Conveniently, Linley tells us, the apartment is just a stone's throw from Walt Disney Studios, home of one of America's premier pop-culture phenomena, "Hannah Montana."

Linley, who plays the recurring character of Jake Ryan on the show, moved in a month ago, along with two fellow actor buddies.

But don't expect it to become party central anytime soon, more about which shortly.

More pressing is the fact that Linley will be getting up-close-and-personal with his Twin Cities fans an hour before Saturday night's Bloomington Extreme game at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum (doors open at 6 p.m., free autographs - but no photos, please - begin at 6:10 p.m.).

On the day GO! tracked down the busy young actor, he was "getting ready for work."

Unlike your average 18-year-old, who might be donning a Burger King uniform for the night ahead, Linley was about to head out to be Jesus Christ, no less.

Though it might sound like a stretch, Linley makes it clear, fairly quickly, that it's not.

"It's an audio version of the Bible, geared toward kids and teens, produced by (actor) Jim Caviezel," says Linley, a self-professed Christian.

A past Jesus himself, courtesy Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," Caviezel's project was done in a version for adults, too, featuring Caviezel back in the role, with support from the likes of Richard Dreyfuss.

Interestingly, Linley was originally cast to play the part of Matthew, but then landed the bigger role after he learned the producers hadn't found their Jesus yet.

Instead of being daunted by the prospect, Linley has seized the day. "As an actor, I love doing roles that are a stretch, and this is really different from Jake Ryan. Playing the role of Jesus is the most important role I could ever get. I'm never going to get a project that has a stronger message than this."

Now that Linley is leading the bachelor life far, far away from his Texas roots, he says his mom, Cathy Sullivan, is decidedly pleased with his current assignment.

She said, "I'm so happy you're going to be reading the Bible all day!"

No one should under-estimate the strength of this mother-son bond, by the way: Sullivan is a well-regarded acting teacher and coach in Texas whose former students Linley continually crosses paths with in Los Angeles.

Another result of that close bond: Linley became an acting teacher himself at age 16, making him, doubtless, one of the world's few teen acting gurus.

"I don't think there are very many," he agrees. His students, he adds, range from grade-schoolers to high school age, which puts him into close age proximity with some of them.

"That can be very interesting," he agrees. "When I started teaching the class, I hadn't done 'Hannah' yet, so it wasn't an issue. Now I'll get a class of 15 or 16 girls and one guy, and, oh my gosh …"

Well, you can imagine the response of students to their teacher, lately plastered all over teen magazines, Web sites and more.

"After a couple weeks, though, they get to know me as Cody, that goofy guy from Texas," he insists.

Since his resume also sports a flurry of film appearances, including one of the three leads in 2006's save-the-owls movie, "Hoot," Linley's days of privacy have been over for some time now.

The other night, he says, he and fellow "Hannah Montana" star Emily Osment headed to the mall together to see the movie "21."

They were quickly outed by a group of screaming female fans.

"Girls like to get in big groups," he's observed, "and then they just go crazy. Around 30 of them started chasing us, but we averted them by running and yelling, 'sorry our movie starts in five minutes!' "

Since Linley has been signed up for half a dozen more Jake Ryan appearances in season three of "Hannah Montana," he realizes that the threat of being chased through malls by herds of young women won't be receding anytime soon.

But that's OK.

"My mom did a really good job of making sure I've had a balanced life," he says. "When I go back home to Texas, I'll still be told to go pick up the trash and then mow the lawn."

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At a glance

What: Cody ("Hannah Montana") Linley autograph session

When: 6 p.m. Saturday, prior to Bloomington Extreme game

Where: U.S. Cellular Coliseum, 101 S. Madison St., Bloomington (concourse level behind Section 115)

Cost: Free with game ticket purchase ($10 to $32)

Box office number: (866) 891-9992