Drake Bell
Drake Bell | |
|---|---|
 Drake Bell on the cover of his CD, It's Only Time. | |
| Born | Jared Drake Bell |
| Years active | 1995 – present |
| Height | 5' 9½" (1.77 m) |
| Website | www.drakebell.com |
Jared Drake Bell (Born June 27, 1986), better known as Drake Bell, is an American actor, guitarist, and singer/songwriter. After beginning his career as a child actor in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he appeared on The Amanda Show and became well known among young audiences for his role on the series Drake & Josh. In addition to his acting, Bell has a growing career as a musician and released his debut album, Telegraph, independently in 2005. His sophomore effort, It's Only Time, was released in 2006 after signing with Universal/Motown.
Biography
Early life
Bell was born in Orange County, California to Joe Bell and Robin Dodson, a professional billiards player. He has a stepfather, Roy, and two older brothers, Robert and Travis. Bell attended the Orange County High School of the Arts in Santa Ana, California.
Career
Bell started acting at the age of five and began playing the guitar (given lessons by The Who's Roger Daltrey[1]) at the age of thirteen. He also appeared in a small role in the Seinfeld episode "The Frogger" in 1998. In 2000, he was nominated for the Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a TV Movie or Pilot" in the "Supporting Young Actor" category for his role as Cage Redding in the made-for-television film The Jack Bull. During the early 2000s, Bell was a featured performer on The Amanda Show and made a guest appearance on the series The Nightmare Room, before being cast as Drake Parker on the Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh, which began airing in 2004. During this time period, he made a guest appearance as himself on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101, won a "Blimp Award" at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in the "Favorite Male TV Actor" category for Drake & Josh, and had a role in the 2005 film Yours, Mine and Ours'. Bell was also a judge for the Miss Teen USA 2006 pageant which aired on NBC on August 15, 2006, where he met his current girlfriend, Melissa Lingafelt. Drake was nominated for "Favorite Male TV Actor" at the 2007 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, and won the second year in a row.
Bell's debut album, Telegraph, was released on September 27, 2005. His song, "Found a Way", which can be found on the album, is the theme song for Drake & Josh. He recently signed with Universal Records, on which his new single "I Know" was released on October 17th. Shooting for the video of "I Know" took place in October 2006. Drake performed live on MTV's TRL the day after It's Only Time came out to the market. Drake's new CD, entitled It's Only Time, was released on December 5th, 2006.
Bell has signed a producing deal with Vitrus Entertainment and will star in The Miracle of Santa Rosa. The storyline is centered on an American who returns to his ancestral home in Italy to spread his father's ashes.
Bell will also be in another Vitrus Entertainment production, this one a mini-series titled Flying Tigers. The film is about a squadron of American pilots who fought the Japanese in Asia immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor, prior to the United States' entry into World War II.
Bell is currently starring in the Lionsgate and Element comedy College directed by Deb Hagan. This film is being shot on-location in New Orleans.
Personal life
On December 29, 2005, Bell was involved in a car accident on Los Angeles' Pacific Coast Highway. He was in the car with friend Thomas. Since his car was a 1966 Ford Mustang, the steering wheel was made of wood and metal, the seatbelts were only around the waist, and there were no airbags. Because of this, his face smashed into the steering wheel, resulting in a broken jaw, a fractured neck, six dislodged teeth, and a deep cut across his chin, leaving a two-and-a-half inch scar. Bell told People that he "could fit [his] tongue through it. It was like a second mouth". Although Bell's injuries were disfiguring, they were not life-threatening, and he made a full recovery. He had his jaw wired shut for two months and subsisted on a liquid diet. Because of Bell's condition, production of the final season of Drake & Josh was postponed for a few months while he recovered.
It has been reported that Bell is dating Melissa Lingafelt, who placed first runner-up in the Miss Teen USA 2006 pageant that he judged.[2] Lingafelt is touring with Bell, singing backing vocals in his band, and she appeared as his love interest in the music video for his single "I Know" in 2006.[3]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Drifting School | Kenny Smith | |
| The Neon Bible | David (age 10) | ||
| 1996 | Jerry Maguire | Jesse Remo | |
| 1999 | Dill Scallion | Eugene Bob | |
| Dragonworld: The Legend Continues | Johnny | television movie | |
| The Jack Bull | Cage Redding | television movie | |
| The Amanda Show | Regular Performer | television series, 1999–2002 | |
| 2000 | High Fidelity | Young Rob Gordon | |
| Perfect Game | Bobby Jr. | direct-to-video | |
| 2001 | Chasing Destiny | Walter | television movie |
| 2004 | Drake & Josh | Drake Parker | television series, 2004–[4] |
| 2005 | Yours, Mine and Ours | Dylan North | |
| 2006 | Drake & Josh Go Hollywood | Drake Parker | television movie |
| 2007 | |||
| 2008 | College | Kevin | |
| Flying Tigers | television mini-series | ||
| The Miracle of Santa Rosa |
Discography
| Album cover | Album information |
|---|---|
 |
Telegraph
|
|
It's Only Time
|
Footnotes
- ^ "Nickelodeon Green-Lights Additional Episodes of TEENick's Drake & Josh for Hit Comedy Series' Fourth Season Launching This September". PRNewswire. 2006-05-01. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ "Drake Rocks!". Popstar! Magazine. February 2007. p. 33. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
- ^ Price, Mark (2006-11-08). "Concord teen makes MTV video debut". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Lorilee Craker (2006-11-30). "'Drake and Josh' star is a busy bee". The Grand Rapids Press. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
