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Even during one of their staged fights, Drake Bell is no match for his “Drake & Josh” co-star, Josh Peck.
“Trust me,” says Bell, 22. “We’ve been hurt.”
The two young actors have tussled for years as part of the job on their Nickelodeon sitcom. And the hits keep on coming with the latest TV-movie sequel, “Merry Christmas Drake & Josh,” which is airing repeatedly through Dec. 25 on Nickelodeon.
It may be a happy seasonal story, but that doesn’t keep fictitious stepbrothers Drake and Josh from slapping each other around for comedy’s sake.
Bell is a skinny guy, the kind whose ribs seem to be nearly visible through a tight T-shirt. Peck, on the other hand, is taller and has a few more pounds on him. It’s hardly a fair match.
“That’s when it’s funniest,” Bell says.
Bell, though, tries to hold his own.
“Whenever we have scenes where we have to wrestle, where he’s on me, we go full force,” Bell says. “We’re always elbowing each other and getting hurt.
“But that’s, you know, what you do. It’s kind of an everyday occurrence.”
During the four seasons on the air and three TV-movie sequels, “Drake & Josh” gave Bell a fighting chance, as it were. As high school student Drake Parker, he was a teen Romeo, a budding rock singer who was always dragging his stepbrother into wacky schemes and necking with all the girls.
Though the series has stopped making new episodes for its weekly run, “Drake & Josh” has returned three times in made-for-TV films. The comedy continues to be one of Nickelodeon’s most resilient programs.
Now Bell is not merely a sitcom star. He’s also a recording artist, with two albums under his belt.
Between doing “Drake & Josh” specials, Bell devotes his time to his music, having recently recorded a live-performance DVD.
Bell was used to the physical comedy way before starring on his own Nickelodeon sitcom. As a regular on the kiddy sketch series “The Amanda Show,” also a Nickelodeon production, Bell was always tripping up for the audience.
Now fight scenes cause Bell to pause. “I think, ‘Wow, this is my job.’ It’s crazy,” he says.
Bell takes his lumps well.
“He’s a lover,” Bell says, “not a fighter.”
