Drake Bell

Jared Drake Bell is an American actor and musician who began his career as a child performer in the 1990s. He rose to prominence on Nickelodeon, starring in the sketch comedy series The Amanda Show, the sitcom Drake & Josh, and the live-action television film series The Fairly OddParents. He also voiced Peter Parker / Spider-Man on the Disney XD animated series Ultimate Spider-Man and related media. Over the course of his career, he has won ten Kids' Choice Awards, a Teen Choice Award, and a Young Artist Award.

Bell was born in Orange County, California, and grew up as the youngest of four children. His mother, Robin Dodson, is a former professional billiards player, and his father, Joe Bell, worked as a swimming pool service technician. His parents divorced when he was five years old. Through his paternal family, he is the cousin of former San Diego Padres relief pitcher Heath Bell. While growing up in Orange County, Bell attended the Orange County School of the Arts, earned his GED, and was influenced by skateboarding and punk rock music.

Encouraged by his father, Bell began acting at age five, making his television commercial debut for Whirlpool Appliances. His early screen roles included a 1994 episode of Home Improvement, the 1996 film Jerry Maguire, a guest appearance on Seinfeld in 1998, and the 1999 film Dragonworld: The Legend Continues. In 2000, he earned a Young Artist Award nomination for his performance in the television film The Jack Bull. Bell learned to play guitar at age 12, taking his first formal lessons from Roger Daltrey while co-starring in the 2001 film Chasing Destiny. He was also a featured performer on The Amanda Show from 1999 to 2002.

In 2003, Bell was cast as Drake Parker on Drake & Josh, performing the show's theme song, "Found a Way." He launched his recording career by independently releasing his debut album, Telegraph, in 2005. After signing with Universal Motown Records in 2006, he released his second album, It's Only Time, which reached number 81 on the Billboard 200 and number four on the Mexico Top 100. During this period, Bell co-starred in films such as Yours, Mine and Ours, Superhero Movie, and College, and recorded the iCarly theme song "Leave It All to Me."

Bell expanded into voice work and live-action television films in the 2010s. He starred as Timmy Turner in A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner! (2011) and its sequels, and voiced Spider-Man in Ultimate Spider-Man, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and video games like Disney Infinity 2.0. His musical output included the 2011 EP A Reminder and his third studio album, Ready Steady Go!, released in 2014 through Surfdog Records.

In subsequent years, Bell released the EP Honest in 2017, the single "Fuego Lento" in 2018, and the EP Smoke It Up in 2019. He followed with the independent releases The Lost Album in 2020 and Non-Stop Flight in 2024. His additional screen credits include the films L.A. Slasher and Bad Kids of Crestview Academy, as well as an appearance on the Mexican television competition series ¿Quién es la máscara? in 2023.