Drake Bell skyrocketed to stardom on Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh, but like all live-action kids
shows, the hit series had a shelf life.
When the once-popular show wrapped, Bell faded from view.
So where is this former Nick kid now?
Here's what Drake Bell has been up to post-Drake & Josh.
Bell played a popular musician in Drake & Josh, and when the show got big, he became one in
real life, too.
His debut album Telegraph dropped in 2005 and was met with critical acclaim, with All
Music describing his sound as "McCartney-esque."
Bell's sophomore effort, 2006's It's Only Time, received similar praise, but the wheels
fell off for Bell shortly after the release of his long-awaited third record, 2014's rockabilly-inspired
Ready Steady Go!.
Bell was happy with the finished product, telling the San Diego Reader at the time,
"This record is exactly what I wanted my music to be from the beginning."
But it didn't go down quite as well with his fans.
Ready Steady Go! peaked at Number 182 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, more than a hundred
spots lower than his previous offering.
Bell's new direction wasn't proving to be as popular, and things got even worse for
the actor-musician when he suffered what doctors told him would likely be a career-ending injury.
In November 2014, Bell shattered his wrist diving into a swimming pool, and the prognosis
was not good.
He revealed on social media,
"Doctors say I will most likely never play guitar again.
It's over."
Luckily, that turned out not to be true, but Bell was forced to take a lengthy break to
recover, meaning his big musical comeback was over before it even really began.
You might not have seen too much of Bell since his Nickelodeon show came to an end, but if
you're into your superheroes, there's a good chance you've heard his voice.
The former Nick star went on to play beloved Marvel character Peter Parker, also known
as Spider-Man, in the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man.
He also got back in the voice booth to reprise the role for Avengers Assemble.
It was a dream come true for Bell, who grew up reading Spider-Man comics.
He told Marvel,
"When you're in the booth and you don't get to see it, you're like 'Okay, I'm Spider-Man.
But when you see it, you're like, 'Holy crap, I'm Spider-Man!
This is one of the most iconic superhero characters of all time and you can hear my voice coming
out of him.'
This is a trip.
It's so cool."
"SpiderMan was so fun to read because he was like you, he was like me."
Bell became such a favorite among Spidey loyalists that many wanted him to be given a shot at
playing Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
That opportunity ultimately went to Tom Holland, and Bell understood why, he would have been
in his 30s by the time the first standalone MCU Spider-Man movie hit movie theatres.
He told ComicBook.com in 2015,
"I think [the studio] wanted to really go for a really young kid.
[Tom Holland] is 18 or 19, so I think I just missed the boat on the age a little bit."
There's nothing like going bankrupt to bury an actor's prospects and switch off the limelight.
Back in 2007, Bell was making so much money that he was able to put down over $2 million
on a fancy house in Los Angeles.
The young actor was living it up at the time, but when the work eventually dried up, Bell
was forced to file for bankruptcy.
Things went downhill fast for Bell in 2013, he reportedly only made around $14,000 that
year, way down from the $408,000 he banked the previous year.
TMZ reported at the time,
"Bell says he's only pulling in $2,820 a month, but his expenses total a whopping $18,771.
And Bell owes a bunch of loot in taxes."
With the wolves at the door, Bell's house had to go.
It was foreclosed upon that same year and listed in 2014, according to the Los Angeles
Times.
That said, with an estimated net worth of $400,000 in early 2020, it seems things are
finally looking up financially for Bell again.
The world was introduced to Caitlyn Jenner in 2015, and the news of her transition set
Twitter ablaze.
The Olympic athlete-turned-reality TV star revealed her name with a highly-anticipated
Vanity Fair cover, and numerous celebrities came out in support of her decision.
Not everyone reacted that way, however.
Many refused to accept Jenner's gender identity, Drake Bell included.
The former child star wrote In a since-deleted tweet,
"Sorry... still calling you Bruce."
The backlash was instantaneous, but instead of apologizing, Bell stood by his deadnaming
comment, saying,
"I'm not dissing him.
I just don't want to forget his legacy.
He is the greatest athlete of all time."
The fact that Bell misgendered the star, referring to Jenner as "he" and "him" as he attempted
to explain himself, only made his position worse.
The Nick vet remained silent for a few days, but eventually returned to Twitter to apologize,
writing,
"I sincerely apologize for my thoughtless, insensitive remarks.
I in no way meant to hurt or demean those going through a similar journey.
Although my comments were made in innocence, I deeply regret the negative effect they've
had on so many."
Even if he was genuinely sorry about what he said, Bell's social media faux pas made
him seem more out of touch than ever.
Caitlyn Jenner isn't the only celeb Bell's called out on Twitter.
In 2013, the former Nick kid went after pop star Justin Bieber, kickstarting a beef that
would drag on for some time.
It all came to a head when Bieber was accused of terrorizing his Calabasas neighbors with
loud parties, and eggs.
Authorities raided his Los Angeles mansion in response to complaints, leading to the
arrest of Bieber's friend Lil Za, the rapper was booked for felony drug possession.
Initial reports suggested that he had been caught with cocaine, but Bell thought the
whole thing was fishy.
According to E! News, Bell tweeted to Bieber,
"How much are you paying Lil Za to take the coke wrap for ya?
Be a man and take responsibility.
Learn to be an ADULT!...Instead of egging, speeding around your neighborhood and defacing
property like a little s--- you should practice your guitar!"
Bieber had been catching a lot of heat at the time, but some thought that Bell went
too far.
In another scathing tweet, the actor went on to insult Bieber's artwork, calling him
"talentless."
His behavior was essentially the same as bullying, according to Bieber's BFF, Milk Tyson, who
warned Bell on Twitter at the time,
"[One] day you'll answer for your bully s---."
As a former child actor whose music appeals to a young audience, "bully" isn't exactly
a good look for Bell.
Bell lecturing Bieber on his driving is pretty interesting when you consider that he's got
not one, but two DUI arrests on his rap sheet.
He was charged in 2010 after he was caught allegedly driving under the influence the
year before in San Diego, though he managed to avoid jail time.
That wasn't the case in December 2015, however, when police spotted Bell speeding and swerving
erratically in the Glendale area of California at around 2:20 in the morning.
Officers could smell booze on Bell, who reportedly failed a field sobriety test and refused to
take a Breathalyzer test, according to the Los Angeles Times.
California law states that anyone who gets a second DUI in the decade following their
first offense will be sentenced to at least four days behind bars.
Bell struck a plea deal and was handed the minimum sentence, he got 96 hours in county
jail, four years probation, and was told that he would need to attend an alcohol education
program upon his release, TMZ confirmed.
Bell was ultimately let out early for good behavior, but with these public relations
nightmares to his name, the damage to his reputation couldn't be undone simply by playing
nice.
Bell reportedly had an on-stage meltdown in 2017, brought on by some unruly students at
the Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, North Carolina.
According to TMZ, the singer-songwriter decided to open his set at the high school with some
new material as opposed to his early hits, which made the crowd restless.
Some members of the audience apparently raided a nearby ball pool and used the balls to show
their disapproval, they started throwing them on the stage.
An angry Bell picked up one of the balls and forcefully threw it back into the crowd, before
stopping the show mid-song to complain.
He screamed,
"Stop the music right now!
Who the hell is throwing these things up on the stage, man?
Stop it!
It doesn't make you cool, man."
Bell went all grown-up on the high schoolers, threatening to bring the party to an early
end if they didn't behave.
He said,
"We're trying to perform a show for you guys, you guys are throwing stuff at us.
If you want us to go, we'll go.
You're spoiling it for everybody, man."
Bell's influence in the States might have waned, but he's managed to maintain his popularity
in Latin America.
He told Vydia in 2019,
"My music has always been received really well down there so I had the opportunity to
visit a lot.
During the last few trips that I made I had the opportunity to play big festivals, hear
other Latin artists perform and see how well audiences were reacting to the music, so when
I got back to the studio in L.A. it was kind of natural that that was the direction my
music went."
Bell recorded a song called "Fuego Lento" for his Latin audience, and a few months later,
he decided to go all in, announcing that he'd be communicating with fans solely in Spanish
going forward.
Bell made the big reveal in a tweet, which went down very well with his Spanish-speaking
followers.
But what about those fans who don't speak Spanish?
Bell allegedly told one follower who begged him not to forget his English-speaking audience
that if they wanted to keep enjoying his music, they better start learning Spanish.
That's one way to alienate a section of your fan base, but Bell is clearly banking on being
big south of the border.
After premieres and awards shows, celebrity weddings are the best place to rub shoulders
with industry movers and shakers.
Fans of Drake & Josh always assumed that the two young stars would be at each other's weddings
one day, so they weren't happy when Bell didn't get an invite to Josh Peck's wedding in 2017.
It all started when Bell lashed out in a now-deleted tweet, telling his followers that he and Peck
were done.
According to the Daily Mail, he wrote,
"True colors have come out today.
Message is loud and clear.
Ties are officially cut.
I'll miss you brotha."
"I was on the No List, like…"
"Yeah."
"I think that just kind of bummed me out."
Bell's fans went after Peck on Instagram, spamming a picture of him and his wife.
Peck was said to be "really hurt" by what happened, especially since he and Bell hadn't
really spoken in years.
A source told Us Weekly,
"At Josh's wedding this weekend some guests were asking Josh Peck where Drake was.
They aren't close anymore and Josh had a very small wedding."
The wedding wasn't that small, Peck's Grandfathered co-star John Stamos and his now-wife attended,
but Bell eventually let it go and the pair made up.
"Please tell Facebook to be nice to me."
"Oh my god, it's not even my fault."
They've since appeared on YouTube together and are working on a new project, but it might
not be Drake & Josh-related.
Peck told Entertainment Tonight in 2019,
"I wouldn't call it a reboot.
I think it's just an opportunity for Drake and I to be working together again."
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Nicki Swift videos about your favorite celebs are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.