Josh Peck

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Josh Peck
Born Joshua Michael Peck
November 10, 1986 (1986-11-10) (age 21)
New York City, New York
Occupation actor, child comedian
Years active 1996 ─ present

Joshua Michael Peck (born November 10, 1986) is an American actor and comedian. He started out as a child actor in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and became known to young audiences after his role on the The Amanda Show as well as in the films Snow Day and Max Keeble's Big Move. He also starred in the very successful children's sitcom, Drake & Josh, and recently appeared in the film Drillbit Taylor.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Peck was born in the Hell's Kitchen area of New York City, New York. His parents were unmarried at the time of his birth and Peck never knew his father. He grew up with his mother, Barbara,who is a career coach.[1][2] Peck had asthma during his childhood, and often stayed indoors watching old sitcoms. Peck has described himself as a "Jewish kid that grew up in New York City just trying to hustle and make it in life". [3] He performed in children's musical theater at New York's TADA! Youth Theater when he was nine years old. He was inspired to become involved in stand-up comedy when he was eight years old.

[edit] Career

Peck subsequently appeared in local kid's theater, as well as performed stand-up comedy at the Caroline's Comedy Club for the Audrey Hepburn foundation. In 1999, he was offered a role on Nickelodeon's The Amanda Show and, at his mother's suggestion, accepted the part and moved to San Francisco to further pursue an acting career.

Peck made his film debut in the 2000 film, Snow Day, and appeared regularly on The Amanda Show until the end of its run in 2002. He also starred opposite Alex D. Linz and Zena Grey in the theatrical film, Max Keeble's Big Move, which was released on October 5, 2001. In 2001, he guest starred in an episode of the popular NBC drama ER called Thy Will Be Done. During this time period, Peck appeared in several independent films, including Spun and 2004's Mean Creek, for which he received critical praise. He was cast as Josh Nichols, opposite Drake Bell's Drake Parker, in another Nickelodeon sitcom, Drake & Josh, which began airing in 2004 and gained Peck recognition among young audiences. In 2006, Bell and Peck starred in their own TV movie called Drake & Josh Go Hollywood, which was a huge success, and in 2007, they starred in a sequel called Drake & Josh: Really Big Shrimp. He was nominated for Favorite Television Actor at the 2008 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for his work on Drake and Josh. Peck also made his debut as a director in the Drake & Josh episode, Battle of Panthatar. Josh will continue to direct as he directs an episode of iCarly in its next season, according to Miranda Cosgrove, Peck's co-star in Drake & Josh and star of iCarly.[4] He has also appeared in the series finale of What's New, Scooby-Doo?, an episode of Codename: Kids Next Door called Operation: C.A.K.E.D.-F.I.V.E., and the direct-to-video New Line Cinema film Havoc.

In 2006, Peck appeared in the independent film Special, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and voiced Eddie, one of two possum brothers, in the animated sequel, Ice Age: The Meltdown, which was released on March 31 of that year. Peck played a high school bully in 2008's Drillbit Taylor, and will star in the upcoming films The Wackness (scheduled for July 2008), American Primitive, Safety Glass, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.[5]

[edit] Personal life

Peck's favorite actors and inspirations are Richard Pryor, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Lewis, Bill Cosby, Ben Kingsley, and Morgan Freeman.[2] Peck, like his friend Drake & Josh co-star Drake Bell, plays an instrument, the piano, and he also likes to play ice hockey in his spare time.

In the third season of Drake & Josh, Peck was significantly thinner than he used to be and by the fourth and final season of the show, he had lost even more weight.[5] According to a 2006 interview, Peck stated that:

"I made a conscious effort to lose weight because I knew I could be happier as well as being healthier. I started by going on a diet a year and a half ago and I got a personal trainer, but I definitely have a healthier lifestyle now. Also I feel that because I do so much television, I am a better role model. I don’t really understand why I should be a role model but I know that kids do look up to me, so it is my responsibility to motivate people and be inspiring. I hope that I can do that for kids. It doesn't really matter what you look like though, it is who you are that matters,of course".[2]

[edit] Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2000 The Amanda Show Himself television series (1999-2002)
Snow Day Wayne Alworth
2001 Max Keeble's Big Move Robe
2002 Spun Fat Boy
2004 Drake & Josh Josh Nichols television series (2004-2007)
Mean Creek George Tooney limited release
2005 Havoc Josh Rubin
2006 Drake & Josh Go Hollywood Josh Nichols television movie
Special Joey
Ice Age: The Meltdown Eddie voice of 1 of twin possums
2007 Drake & Josh: Really Big Shrimp Josh Nichols television movie
2008 Drillbit Taylor Ronnie the Bully
The Wackness Luke Shapiro completed
Safety Glass Jim post-production
American Primitive Spoke White post-production
2008 Drake and Josh : Best Christmas Ever Josh Nichols in production
2009 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Eddie in production

[edit] Awards and nominations

Won

    • Independent Spirits Awards for Mean Creek
    • Kids choice awards 2008

Nominations

    • Favorite Television Actor for Drake and Josh

[edit] References

  1. ^ Keck, William. "Josh Peck lightens up", USA Today, 2004-08-25. Retrieved on 2008-01-25. 
  2. ^ a b c "INTERVIEW: Josh Peck Talks Ice Age: The Meltdown", MovieWeb, 2006-03-29. Retrieved on 2008-01-25. 
  3. ^ Douglas, Edward. "Josh Peck on The Wackness", ComingSoon.net, 2008-01-25. Retrieved on 2008-01-25. 
  4. ^ http://weblogs.amny.com/entertainment/tv/blog/2008/03/miranda_cosgrove_news_right_he.html
  5. ^ a b http://www.seeklaws.com/show/50

[edit] External links