Nickelodeon Jerry Trainor opened up about how he got cast as 'Crazy Steve' onDrake & Josh Trainor said that he impressed the casting director after he went "nuclear" during his last-minute audition The part ultimately helped him land his leading role as Spencer oniCarly Jerry Trainor had to go against his training to land his breakout role onDrake & Josh. Trainor, 48, opened up about getting cast on the show as "Crazy Steve" during a panel at Richmond Galaxy Con earlier in the spring. Trainor first appeared as Steve, a quick-to-anger employee at the local movie theater, in a season 2 episode titled "Movie Job," which premiered in 2004. "When I auditioned for Crazy Steve, it had already been cast. Somebody else was already cast as Crazy Steve," Trainor remembered. "But I guess when he got to the set, he was not crazy enough for them, and so they fired him." Trainor took part in a "rush audition" to fill the role. "And you have to understand, I had just gotten out of college, majoring in theater, where they're telling me to, like, tone it down, bring it in, drop it in. Subtext, subtext, subtext," he said. Trainor had studied at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Trainor came in and did the classic Steve "bit": "Basically, I'm calm, and then I fly off the handle." Nickelodeon "I went in that day, I was like, 'Yeah, I can do this,' " he said. "And I did it big. And the casting director's eyes just, like, lit up, and she goes, 'Oh my God, can you go bigger?' And I was like, 'Yeah, I can go bigger.' " He continued, "And so then I did it, like, crazier, and she goes, 'Can you go crazier?' And I went, 'Let me stop you right there. I can go nuclear. What do you want?' " "She was like, 'As big as possible.' And I'm like, 'You don't want that,' " he said. "And she goes, 'Literally, that's what we need.' And I was like, 'Okay, here it is. And I did it.' The rest is history." In Trainor's first episode, Josh (Josh Peck) talks to Crazy Steve about how much he loves the movie theater, but gives him a small criticism about a wobbly cup holder. Crazy Steve snaps and starts screaming at Josh, calling him a "little whiny punkhole." Steve quits, and the theater's manager (played byYvette Nicole Brown) is so grateful that she hires Josh, who works there throughout the rest of the series. Lisa Rose/Paramount+ Trainor's role ended up becoming a recurring one, and he appeared in eight episodes, plus the movieMerry Christmas,Drake & Josh. His role on the Nickelodeon series from 2004 to 2007 led to him being cast oniCarlyalongsideDrake & JoshstarMiranda Cosgrove. Trainor played her whimsical older brother (who's also her guardian), Spencer. The original series ran from 2007 to 2012, and he reprised his role forthe 2021 revival. Paramount+abruptly canceled the series in 2023. Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In both hisDrake & JoshandiCarlyroles, Trainor's natural yelling abilities were an asset. He toldEntertainment Weeklyin 2012 about his screaming skills, "It's definitely become second nature. But I was always what you'd call an 'amplified person.' " Read the original article onPeople
