The upcoming iCarly revival will be missing one key cast member: Jennette McCurdy, who played Sam on the original Nickelodeon run, says she’s done with acting entirely, indicating she won’t return to reprise her role.
The 28-year-old is best known for playing Sam Puckett on the Nickelodeon TV show from 2007 to 2012, and reprising her role for spin-off series Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande.
Speaking on her podcast Empty Inside, Jennette told Anna Faris: “I quit a few years ago because I initially didn’t want to do it.
“My mum put me in it when I was 6 and by sort of age, I guess, 10 or 11, I was the main financial support for my family.”
She added: “It was very much the pressure of my family [not having] a lot of money, and this was the way out.
“Which I actually think was helpful in driving me to some degree of success, because I don’t think I would have been as ambitious if I didn’t know that it was for my family.”
A reboot of iCarly is currently planned but Paramount+, but Jennette has already ruled herself out of appearing alongside Miranda Cosgrove and Nathan Kress.
“I’m so ashamed of the parts I’ve done in the past, and I get that this answer is super unlikable,” she continued.
“I resent my career in a lot of ways. I feel so unfulfilled by the roles that I played and felt like it was the most cheesy, embarrassing [thing].
“I did the shows that I was on from like, 13 to 21, and by 15, I was already embarrassed.”
“My friends at 15, they’re not like, ‘Oh, cool, you’re on this Nickelodeon show.’ It was embarrassing,” she added.
“And I imagine there’s a very different experience to be had with acting if you’re proud of your roles, and if you feel fulfilled by them.”
