Name |
Josh Peck |
Height |
6' 1" |
Naionality |
American |
Date of Birth |
10 November 1986 |
Place of Birth |
New York, USA |
Famous for |
|
Inspired by Bill Cosby, Jackie Gleason, and Richard Pryor, and many others, New York-born Josh Peck started to perform in musical theater with the local children's theater TADA before making his stand-up comedy debut at age 8 at Caroline's Comedy Club for the Audrey Hepburn foundation. After appearances on NBC's “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and the syndicated “The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” he made his film debut in the 2000 indie-drama “The Newcomers,” opposite Christopher McCoy, Matt McCoy, Kate Bosworth and Elizabeth Duff, and later that same year resurfaced as Wayne Alworth on the hit kiddie comedy “Snow Day,” which was directed by Chris Koch.
Thanks to his gift for physical comedy, Nickelodeon recruited Peck as a regular performer on “The Amanda Show,” a sketch comedy series based around the talents of former “All That” star Amanda Bynes. During his tenure on the show (from 2000 to the end of its run in 2002), Peck and his costar Drake Bell, another burgeoning young star, showcased their on-screen chemistry and enjoyed a sizable fan base.
While on “The Amanda Show,” Peck could be seen pursuing other projects. He starred as Lenny in the animated television short “What Ever Happened to Robot Jones?” (2000), appeared as a neighbor's son in the made-for-TV film “Mad TV Live and Almost Legal” (2001) as well as landed guest spots on primetime series like NBC's “ER” and Fox's “Family Guys” (both 2001). Also in 2001, Peck's film career received another boost when he was cast in the role of Robe in the Disney comedy “ Max Keeble’s Big Move,” starring Alex D. Linz in the title role of a sixth-grader who is being harassed by the school bullies and the principal.
In 2002, Peck revisited the animation world by contributing to the Cartoon Network series “Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?,” a show adapted from a Nickelodeon animated short for which Peck had also provided his voice, and Disney's “Fillmore!,” in which he voiced Randall Julian in a 2002 episode called “To Mar a Stall.” The same year, he could be seen acting as a fat boy in the independent film “Spun,” about methamphetamine addicts. Among his costars in the film were Jason Schwartzman, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy, John Leguizamo, Patrick Fugit and Mena Suvari. Next, the young actor appeared as Chris Rapp in two episode of the CBS series “The Guardian” (2003-2004) and received plaudits for his role as a hapless bully named George Tooney in the interesting drama “Mean Creek” (2004), from which he also jointly picked up a Special Distinction Award from the Independent Spirit Awards. He also appeared with Anne Hathaway, Bijou Phillips and Shiri Appleby in the urban coming-of-age drama “Havoc” (2005), helmed by Barbara Kopple.
However, it was Peck's performance as Josh Nichols on the Nickelodeon comedy series, “Drake and Josh” (2004-2007), opposite Drake Bell's Drake Parker, that really put the actor back on the TV spotlight. Debuted in January 2004, the sitcom, which is a blend of broad physical comedy (courtesy of Peck) and heartthrob appeal (courtesy of Bell), immediately became a favorite among teen audience and won a 2006 Blimp for Favorite Television Show at the Kid's Choice Awards.
In 2006, Peck rejoined Bell for their own TV film called “Drake & Josh Go Hollywood”, which was a massive success, and supported Michael Rapaport and Paul Blackthorne in the drama film “Special,” which was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January that year. He also voiced Eddie in the animated movie “Ice Age: The Meltdown” (2006).
As for his upcoming projects, Peck will star with his idol, Ben Kingsley, and Famke Janssen in the 1994-set comedy “The Wackness” (2008), playing the troubled teen Luke Shapiro, and as Spoke White in the drama “American Primitive” (2008), directed and co-written by Gwen Wynne. He is also set to play roles in Steven Brill's comedy, “Drillbit Taylor” (2008), in which he appears as Alex Frost's friend, and “Safety Glass” (2008), opposite Hilary Duff. Peck and Drake Bell will appear together in “Drake & Josh in New York!” (2007), the latest TV movie based on the “Drake & Josh” series.