iCarly Star Jennette McCurdy Is Embarrassed By Her Roles, Quits Acting

iCarly star Jennette McCurdy revealed that she is embarrassed by her acting career and has left the profession altogether. McCurdy began acting in 2000 and has had various roles in film and television. The actress guest-starred in a slew of hit television shows in the early 2000s, but her big break came when she joined iCarly as Sam Puckett alongside Miranda Cosgrove as the titular character.

iCarly ran for six seasons from 2007 to 2012, with McCurdy featured prominently in all 97 episodes. Paramount+ is reviving hit shows like iCarly, and original stars Cosgrove, Nathan Kress and Jerry Trainor are all returning. iCarly creator and Nickelodeon mainstay Dan Schneider won’t be involved in the reboot in any capacity after allegations of temperament issues surfaced. McCurdy won’t be returning for the revival either, and now the actress has shared why.

McCurdy revealed on the most recent episode of her podcast Empty Inside that she has quit acting altogether. McCurdy doesn’t rule out returning to acting in the future, but says that, for now, that part of her life is over. The former Nickelodeon actress explains:

I quit a few years ago because I initially didn’t want to do it. My mom put me in it when I was 6 and by sort of age, I guess, 10 or 11, I was the main financial support for my family. My family didn’t have a lot of money, and this was the way out, which I actually think was helpful in driving me to some degree of success.

I ultimately quit after my mom passed away because with her death kind of died a lot of her ideas for my life, and that was its own journey, and a difficult one for sure.

My experience with acting is, I’m so ashamed of the parts I’ve done in the past. I resent my career in a lot of ways. I feel so unfulfilled by the roles that I played and felt like it was the most cheesy, embarrassing. I did the shows that I was on from like 13 to 21, and by 15, I was already embarrassed. My friends at 15, they’re not like, ‘Oh, cool, you’re on this Nickelodeon show.’ It was embarrassing. And I imagine there’s a very different experience to be had with acting if you’re proud of your roles, and if you feel fulfilled by them.

Hollywood has had a complicated relationship with its child actors since the dawn of the entertainment industry and many of them, like McCurdy, decide not to continue on with their careers once they have some semblance of control over their lives. Unfortunately, it sounds like that’s the case with McCurdy, as well. While fans would likely disagree that McCurdy’s roles are embarrassing, the emotions seem to go deeper than that for the former actress. McCurdy has not acted in film or television since 2018.

The actress did put on a one-woman show, titled I’m Glad My Mom Died, that made its debut in Los Angeles and New York City in February 2020. The show explored the actress’ mother’s death from cancer and the complicated feelings surrounding their relationship, but McCurdy has said it was a one-off thing. While McCurdy doesn’t rule out a return to acting, it seems as if she won’t be appearing in the iCarly revival. It sounds like it would ultimately prove to be too painful for the former actress. Of course, her character Sam’s absence will still need to be explained. The revival’s writers could chalk it up to fading friendship, but those who loved the original series are likely hoping for a happier outcome for Sam and Carly. Viewers will find out one way or another when the iCarly revival hits Paramount+.

Source: Empty Inside

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Graeme Guttmann
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Graeme Guttmann is an editor, writer, and interviewer for Screen Rant. With a love for all things pop culture, he watches just about everything from the biggest blockbusters to reality shows like Real Housewives. He currently resides in Boston, MA where he is an MFA candidate at Emerson College for creative writing. You can follow him on Twitter @cryptograeme for pop culture commentary and random musings about pop music and just about anything else.

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