Drake Bell and Josh Peck spoke fondly about their time with Nickelodeon icon Amanda Bynes during part two of their latest podcast talk.
Bell and Peck got their start on The Amanda Show, which ran for three seasons from 1999 to 2002. The two played an assortment of characters and would later have their own sitcom, Drake & Josh, which lasted for four seasons in the mid-2000s. On the Good Guys podcast, hosted by Peck and Ben Soffer, the former castmates discussed working with Bynes, who retreated from Hollywood after a mental breakdown over ten years ago. The actress now lives a reclusive life.
"I randomly talked to her, like, it was 2017, maybe. It's around that time," Bell said about Bynes around the 36-minute mark of the video below. "I randomly messaged her. She was in the news or something, and I was just thinking about her. And I was like, 'Oh, I'm just gonna message her. She'll never see it. She'll never respond.'"
Bell added that the two "messaged back and forth a little bit," although that was the last time he spoke to the She's the Man star.
"Other than being on the show, and, you know, she was an idol to me. I mean, I grew up on 'All That.' One of the most talented people on the label," Bell continued. "When I got to audition for 'The Amanda Show,' she may as well have been Rachel on 'Friends.' She was the biggest thing on the planet to me."
Peck added that he'll "bump" into Bynes at random "every two to three years" and called her "the greatest."
"She was great then, she remains great, and such a good person," he explained. "Obviously, has had some public struggles, but I just think she's got one of the great hearts and great skills, great talents of anyone there is."
Peck also called Bynes "a dynamite force of nature when it comes to talent." "Watching her was like watching Carol Burnett, was like watching Tracey Ullman," he concluded.
Bynes, who's active on Instagram and TikTok, left the spotlight around 2010. The actress' parents placed her under a conservatorship in 2013, which ended close to a decade later, due to concerns over her finances and mental health. During her conservatorship, Bynes was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
But the actress has enjoyed living a more private life and reportedly declined to appear on controversial docuseries Quiet On Set. On the show, Bell revealed that he was sexually abused by former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck (no relation) at 15 years old.