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A performer who carries equal weight in the twin arenas of pop recording and film and television acting, Drake Bell first staked out a career as an actor, signing for his premiere small-screen commercial at age five, in the early '90s. Bell commenced A-list film roles by 1996, when he made a memorable impression as a sports figure's son who bitterly curses agent Tom_Cruise in Cameron_Crowe's drama Jerry_Maguire. Following small guest turns on such blockbuster series as The_Drew_Carey_Show (1997) and Seinfeld (1998), Bell joined the cast of the Nickelodeon variety series The_Amanda_Show (1999-2002), as a regular member of the program's resident sketch comedy ensemble. In 2002, the show took its final bow, but Bell and co-star Josh_Peck received their own spin-off sitcom, also on Nickelodeon: Drake_&_Josh (2004).

Meanwhile, Bell began to pursue musical interests, and established himself as a pop-rock star, thanks in no small part to the tutelage of the Who's Roger_Daltrey, whom he met on the set of the 2001 telemovie Chasing_Destiny, and who reportedly gave Drake his first music lessons. As a performer, Drake bore self-professed (and unmissable) stylistic ties to the Beatles, as well as echoes of the Beach Boys and Elvis_Presley. Bell's recording career in fact neatly dovetailed with the debut of Drake_&_Josh on two levels: he both recorded the theme song and played a slightly exaggerated version of his guitarist self on the program. The up-and-comer self-produced his first album, Telegraph, in 2005, and its success prompted Universal Records to sign him for a sophomore release, the 2006 It's Only Time.

Alongside these efforts, Bell's acting efforts continued unabated, and he geared up for big-screen leads in the 2008 comedies College and Superhero -- the latter an Airplane!-style farce skewering the clichés of superhero movies. Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

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