
Getting honest. Over the years, former Nickelodeon stars have opened up about their journey as child actors at the network — and not everyone had the same experience.
Jennette McCurdy shocked her fans when she revealed that she wasn’t thrilled about her time on iCarly.
“I did the shows that I was on from like 13 to 21, and by 15, I was already embarrassed. My friends at 15 weren’t like ‘Oh, cool, you’re on this Nickelodeon show.’ It was embarrassing,” the actress, who played Sam Puckett, admitted during an episode of her “Empty Inside” podcast in March 2021. “I imagine there’s a very different experience to be had with acting if you’re proud of your roles.”
At the time, McCurdy recalled feeling “pointless and shallow” which led to her taking a break from acting. “I quit a few years ago because I initially didn’t want to do it,” she added. “I’m so ashamed of the parts I’ve done in the past. … I resent my career in a lot of ways. I felt unfulfilled by the roles I played and found it embarrassing. [thing].”
In her memoir, the former child star elaborated on her experiences with Hollywood. I’m Glad My Mom Died. “My whole childhood and adolescence were very exploited,” she told The New York TimesAugust 2022. “It still gives my nervous system a reaction to say it. There were cases where people had the best intentions and maybe didn’t know what they were doing. And also cases where they did — they knew exactly what they were doing.”
Meanwhile, Jamie Lynn SpearsA more positive memory of the Zoey 101After having starred in the lead role from 2005 through 2008, she was set. “The show attracted some of the best professionals in the business. The creator and director. Dan Schneider, was exacting and insisted on professionalism,” she wrote in her Things I Should Not Have SaidMemoir in January 2022
Spears noted that Schneider “recognized [her] talent” and “was the driving force” behind her involvement in the project. The Mississippi native also praised the producer for knowing “how to get just what he needed from a rambunctious group of teens who thought that they were all that.”
Schneider was once accused of inappropriate misconduct while working at the network. (The screenwriter resigned from Nickelodeon after a long-term partnership.
According to Tennessee native, he has denied all allegations against him. The New York Times in July 2021, “The comedy was totally innocent. … I never interacted with actors in any way, texting or otherwise, that should make anyone uncomfortable.”
Scroll down for former Nickelodeon stars’ most candid comments about the network: