Hilary Duff first rose to fame when she was cast as one of the children in the pilot episode of the NBC sitcom Daddio in 2000. Her co-star, Michael Chiklis, stated, "After working with her the first day, I remember saying to my wife, 'this young girl is going to be a movie star'. Hilary Duff was completely at ease with herself and comfortable in her own skin." Hilary Duff was dropped from the cast of Daddio before it was aired, which made her reluctant to pursue her acting career further. However, her manager and mother urged her on, and a week later she successfully auditioned for the children's television series Lizzie McGuire, where Hilary Duff portrayed the title role of a clumsy but average middle school girl. The show focused on her growth into teenhood.