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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 roles on the The Amanda Show and in the films Snow Day and Max Keeble's Big Move. More recently, he appeared in the dark drama Mean Creek, and as of October 2006, stars in the successful sitcom Drake & Josh. He also supports and works with the ONE Campaign.

Biography

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 Jewish mother, Barbara, and maternal grandmother. Peck had asthma during his childhood, and often stayed indoors watching old sitcoms. He was inspired and became involved in stand-up comedy when he was eight years old; Peck subsequently appeared in local children'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.

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. 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 teenage audiences.

More recently, Peck appeared in the independent film, Special, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2006, and voiced Eddie, one of two possum twins, in the animated sequel, Ice Age: The Meltdown, which was released on March 31, 2006.

Personal life

Peck's favorite actors and inspirations are Jackie Gleason, Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman. Peck, who is friends with his Drake & Josh co-star, Drake Bell, plays the piano and ice hockey in his spare time, and has a pet fish called Campo.

In the later episodes of Drake & Josh he is much thinner than he used to be. He worked with a personal trainer and lost over 100 pounds. According to a recent interview, Peck has stated that, "I did lose a lot of weight, over 100 pounds. And that helps with the asthma. 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 children's television, I am a better role model. I don't really understand why I should be a role model but I know that children 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 matter what you look like really though, it is who you are that matters of course."

He has also said that he lost the weight through a balanced diet, yoga, meditation, exercise and karate.

Selected filmography

Footnotes

External links

• Josh Peck's Homepage

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