Joshua Michael "Josh" Peck (born November 10, 1986) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Josh Nichols in the Nickelodeon live-action sitcom Drake & Josh. He began his career as a child actor in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and became known to young audiences after his role on The Amanda Show. He has since acted in films such as Mean Creek, Drillbit Taylor, The Wackness, ATM, and Red Dawn, along with voicing Eddie in the Ice Age franchise. He also starred as Gerald in a lead role with John Stamos in the series Grandfathered. He currently voices Casey Jones in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Early life

Peck was born in Manhattan, New York, where he attended P.S. 40 and The Professional Performing Arts School. His parents were unmarried at the time of his birth and he has never met his biological father. He grew up with his Jewish mother, Barbara, who is a career coach, and his maternal grandmother. Peck had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony. He had asthma during his childhood, and often stayed indoors watching old sitcoms. He was inspired to become involved in stand-up comedy when he was eight years old.

Career

Peck subsequently appeared at TADA! Youth Theater and performed stand-up comedy at Caroline's Comedy Club for the Audrey Hepburn foundation. At the age of 13, he was offered a role on Nickelodeon's The Amanda Show and, at his mother's suggestion, accepted the part and moved to Los Angeles to further pursue an acting career.

Peck made his film debut in Snow Day (2000), 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 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. Peck's character, Josh Nichols, was smart, funny, and organized, but was always being tormented along with Drake by Megan Parker (Miranda Cosgrove), Drake's younger sister. Both characters sing in a remake of the song "Soul Man" by Sam and Dave. In 2006, Bell and Peck starred in their own TV movie called Drake & Josh Go Hollywood, and in 2007, they starred in a sequel called Drake & Josh: Really Big Shrimp. Josh was nominated for Favorite Television Actor at the 2008 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for his work on Drake & Josh. Peck also made his debut as a director in the Drake & Josh episode, Battle of Panthatar. He also directed his co-star Drake Bell's music video for the theme song to Drake & Josh, "Found a Way". 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. Peck returned to the character of Josh Nichols in 2008 for the television film Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh.

Personal life

In the fourth season of Drake & Josh, Peck was noticeably thinner. He said

“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.”

He is also a prominent personality on the video-sharing service Vine.

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