Josh Peckgot his big break thanks to Nickelodeon, but his best movies and TV shows are not all part of the Nickelodeon family. Peck grew up on the screen as a child actor who mostly took on comedic roles. He is best known for playing one of the title characters inDrake & Josh, but he has also more than proven his dramatic abilities over the years in independent films and epic blockbusters.
Today, Peck is still mostly acting on television. He has a particular affinity for sitcom work thanks to his great comedic timing and delivery. He is also the co-host of theGood Guyspodcast, which sees him musing about life with his friends, but also interviewing fellow former child actors like his costars from previous projects like Miranda Cosgrove, Drake Bell, and Hilary Duff. Peck has found unique ways of maintaining a presence in the entertainment industry while still taking on interesting acting roles.
Pitchis thebaseball TV showthat did not get the chance to thrive that it deserved. It did not last beyond its first season, canceled at only 10 episodes in. If the show had gone on the air just a few years later, it might have had a fighting chance as more sports series, and even more baseball series, began to gain traction.
The series follows Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury) as she begins her professional baseball career. Ginny is the first woman to play Major League Baseball on an otherwise all-male team. The series sees her have to face the pressure of being in the public eye and the harassment of those who think she does not have what it takes.
Peck only appears in two episodes of the show, though it’s likely his role would have been expanded if the series had been allowed to continue.He played an analyst who could crunch the sports numbers to help find the best monetary and skill decisions for the baseball team. It’s the kind of role that requires an actor to rattle off a lot of information and a lot of numbers they might not necessarily understand, but Peck makes the audience believe he’s always been an expert.
In the early 2000s, Josh Peck was primarily appearing in skits forAll ThatandThe Amanda Showon Nickelodeon. Outside of Nickelodeon, however, he appeared in a handful of dramatic roles at the same time, and a particular highlight is that of George inMean Creek.
The movie follows a group of kids who initially plan on getting revenge on a bully while on a boat trip. While on the trip, however, they discover that the boys is not simply an angry bully, but a lonely and misunderstood kid who lashes out.Peck plays that bully, which is an unusual role for him at this point in his career, as he would pretty quickly be typecast in best friend and comedic relief roles.
Peck’s turn as George, however, is great.He channels George’s anger at being misunderstood and being made fun of perfectly, and juxtaposes it with George as a dreamer.Peck and the rest of the young cast were awarded the Special Distinction Award from the Independent Spirit Awards.
ERwas a landmark drama series in the 1990s and 2000s. The series did not simply spotlight one case of the week or one medical mystery to solve. Instead, it spotlighted the chaotic goings-on in an emergency room with multiple cases in every episode while slowly fleshing out its huge ensemble cast. With over 300 episodes across 15 seasons, it is widely regarded as one of the best medical dramas of all time and helped pave the way for shows likeGrey’s Anatomy.
Josh Peck, like many actors in his age group, booked a single guest star spot in the show. He appears in the episode “Thy Will Be Done” as a teenager who needs a heart transplant - for the third time.He makes a memorable turn in the episode because, despite his young age, there is a world weariness to his character that can be hard to channel.Peck’s Nick does not want the transplant. He wants to be done with all the surgeries, the scrutiny, and the pain.
Peck plays a man exhausted and miserable and is ready to move on. He is heartbreaking in the role.
The Big Bang Theoryhas become one of the most beloved modern sitcoms. Centering on a group of friends who work in academia and the aspiring actress who lives across the hall,The Big Bang Theorygradually expanded its ensemble cast throughout its long run and has now had two prequel series. It featured a ton of guest stars who were known for their contributions to geek culture, and Peck got to appear in a similar capacity.
Josh Peck only appears in a single episode of the series, but he’s there as an antagonistand is so fun to watch. Peck plays the owner of a comic book store and rival to recurring character Stuart.He knows exactly how to push Stuart’s buttons and has just the right amount of smarminess to make the audience not trust him.
It’s a great role for someone who grew up as a child actor relegated to mostly best friend and younger brother roles.
This animated series is a parody of 1970s cop shows. Adults will get a kick out of the nods, and kids will just find the show endlessly entertaining. It follows the titular character, a reformed delinquent, as he makes the rounds as a safety patrol officer at his school alongside his partner.
Peck lends his voice to a single episode as Randall Julian. Randall is inspired by Hannibal Lecter, which might seem a little strange for a kid’s cartoon, but it works. A former macaroni artist, Randall has been in detention for tagging the bathroom stalls at the school, and Fillmore strikes a deal with him in order to find another graffiti artist.Peck’s Randall is menacing and slightly unhinged in his efforts to get a writing utensil and make it to the teacher’s restroom to tag.
It’s both a hilarious and impressive take on a teenager who loves macaroni art and channels Hannibal Lecter.
Grandfatheredhas an intriguing premise for its show, one that promises a healthy mix of comedy and drama. It sees a life-long bachelor and restaurant owner find out that he actually has a son from a relationship 25 years earlier. He also happens to have a new grandfather from the son he never knew.
Josh Peck is accompanied by some fantastic casting in this sitcom. While he plays the 25-year-old son, John Stamos plays the father he meets for the first time, Paget Brewster is his mother, and Christina Milian is the mother of his daughter and the friend he is in love with. The cast had great chemistry and was equally adept at drama and comedy. Unfortunately, the show was canceled after the first season, not given enough room to breathe and allowing the show to find its audience.
Peck has honed his sitcom timing since he was a child, so he is a natural fit for sitcoms as an adult, and he was able to bounce off the rest of the cast successfully, so it’s a shame the series did not gain more traction.
In addition to Peck being a prolific child actor for Nickelodeon projects, he has also lent his voice to a plethora of animated projects. One of those is the 2012Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesseries animated for Nickelodeon.
There have been a lot ofNinja Turtlesadaptations. This animated series features the titular turtles first training to fight enemies and making their way out of the sewers. The series deals heavily with the alien mythology and Planet X that ties into theNinja Turtlesstorylines in various media.
Peck makes his first appearance in the second season of the show as future vigilante Casey Jones. He is introduced as a friend of April O’Neil, whom she tutors at school, who becomes an ally for the Turtles. Peck would voice the character through the remainder of the series and become a main cast member.With the show’s high energy and adventurous spirit, Peck was perfect casting.
The series was nominated for multiple Daytime Emmy Awards during its run, winning three.
Josh Peck has not had a lot of luck with television series in which he appears as an adult. Many of them have been canceled early, but that’s not due to a lack of acting ability from their casts. InHow I Met Your Father,Peck recurs as one of the potential titular fathers.
The spin-off series ofHow I Met Your Motherfeatures Kim Cattrall as the older version of Hilary Duff’s character, telling the story to her son in a similar framework to the original series. Like the original series, Duff’s character and her friends deal with relationship issues, work complications, and the reality of coming of age in New York.
Peck enters the series as a love interest for Duff. He nails his comedic beats in his episodes and provides some much-needed conflict for the show as one of three primary love interests for Duff. His chemistry with her would have kept the audience guessing despite the show seemingly setting up one of her friends as her end-game romance.
Drake & Josh is a modern Nickelodeon classic. It is part of the era of Nickelodeon shows that is fondly remembered by young millennials. A golden age for Nickelodeon, the shows might have been aimed at families, but the sitcoms had jokes and storylines that could easily appeal to adults.
Josh Peck is one of the titular characters in a blended family who finds himself often caught up in the antics of his brother. While he is arguably the more mature of the two, with his job at a movie theater and his dedication to his school work, that does not mean Josh does not get himself in trouble a time or two as well.
Drake & Joshis easily Peck’s best comedy. He and Drake Bell were comedy gold together with a dynamic that is not easy to replicate, no matter how much acting experience someone has.While bothPeck and Bell have gone publicwith different struggles they had behind the scenes of the show, their work on camera is still impeccable.
Oppenheimeris inspired by the real-life work of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the famous physicist who helped develop nuclear weapons. It examines Oppenheimer’s studies and a security hearing centered around him in the 1950s. The movie assembledmany of Hollywood’s A-listto bring real historic figures to life in the massive and beautifully shot film.
Peck appears in the movie briefly as Kenneth Bainbridge, a physicist who worked at Harvard University and was the director of the Manhattan Project’s Trinity test.
Josh Peck might not have a ton of screen time in Oppenheimer, but it is the biggest and most lauded project of his career.Across the award circuit, Oppenheimer accumulated over 300 nominations and nearly 200 wins. Among those were 13 Oscar nominations and seven wins, including Best Picture. It is the best movie in which Peck appears.
