Born Joshua Michael Peck on Nov. 10, 1986....
Born Joshua Michael Peck on Nov. 10, 1986 in New York City, NY, Peck was raised by his mother, a career counselor, and his maternal grandmother. A bout with asthma sidelined Peck in early childhood, and he drew solace – and inspiration – from cartoons and classic TV sitcoms (he counted Bill Cosby, Jackie Gleason, and Richard Pryor among his influences). Bit by the comedy bug, Peck was encouraged by his mother to explore his talents, and he performed with a children’s musical theater group in New York before making his stand-up comedy debut at age eight at Caroline’s Comedy Club. Following appearances on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” (NBC, 1993- ) and “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” (syndicated, 1996-2002), Peck made his feature film debut in 2000 – first, in the indie film, “The Newcomers,” followed by the popular kiddie comedy, “Snow Day.” Peck’s knack for physical comedy (which often exploited his bulky frame) attracted the attention of Nickelodeon, who signed him as a regular cast member on “The Amanda Show” (1999-2002), a sketch comedy series based around the talents of former “All That” (Nickelodeon, 1994-2005) star Amanda Bynes. One of Peck’s co-stars was another rising young actor, Drake Bell, and the pair gained a considerable fan base thanks to their on-screen chemistry.
While on “The Amanda Show,” Peck also found time to make guest appearances on several primetime television series, including “ER” (NBC, 1994- ) and “Family Guy” (Fox, 1999- ) in 2001. He also returned to feature films that year with the Disney comedy, “Max Keeble’s Big Move.” In 2002, Peck dove further into the world of animated voice-over talent by contributing to the Cartoon Network series “Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?” (2002-04) – a show based on a Nickelodeon animated short for which Peck had also lent his voice – and the wry Disney Channel program “Fillmore!” (2002-04). On the live action front, Peck showed his acted against type in “Spun,” an indie feature about methamphetamine addicts.
Peck and Bell’s popularity on “The Amanda Show” inspired Nickelodeon to build a series around them once the Bynes program ended in 2002. So, in 2004, “Drake and Josh” premiered to immediate fan approval. The series, a mix of broad physical comedy (courtesy of Peck) and heartthrob appeal (courtesy of Bell) caught on with teen audiences, and allowed the pair to work on subsequent projects, both together and on their own. But while Bell diverged into music and mainstream features, Peck’s non-Nickelodeon efforts were consistently offbeat and intriguing. His performance as a pitiable bully in the gripping drama “Mean Creek” (2004) earned him excellent reviews and a Special Distinction Award from the Independent Spirit Awards, along with the rest of a cast including Rory Culkin and Scott Mechlowitz. Peck also contributed a brief supporting performance to the urban coming-of-age drama, “Havoc” (2005), and appeared twice on the CBS series “The Guardian” (2001-04).
But Peck has not left his comedy roots behind. In 2006, he and Bell co-starred in the TV movie, “Drake and Josh Go Hollywood,” and he lent his voice to Eddie, one of the manic possums who help raise Queen Latifah’s waylaid mammoth in “Ice Age: The Meltdown.” Peck also appeared in the indie debut feature, “Special” (2006), which premiered at Sundance that year. Peck continued to co-star in “Drake and Josh,” and was gearing up to star in a comedy feature (unrelated to the series), slated for a 2007 release.