‘iCarly’ star Jennette McCurdy says she’s ‘so ashamed’ of her past roles and is done with acting

• Jennette McCurdy, who starred on Nickelodeon’s “iCarly,” said she’s “ashamed” of her past roles. 
• The actress confirmed that she quit acting a few years ago to try writing and directing.
• McCurdy said she didn’t originally want to act but did it because her family needed the money. 
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Jennette McCurdy recently confirmed that she’s done with acting and said that she regrets some of her most iconic roles.

On February 24, the former Nickelodeon actress spoke about her industry experience on her podcast “Empty Inside” featuring guest Anna Faris.

During their conversation, McCurdy opened up about the shame she feels about her early roles and the stress that acting caused her. 

The actress said she was ‘ashamed of’ and ‘embarrassed’ by her early roles

When reflecting on past roles, McCurdy said she is “so ashamed of the parts that I’ve done in the past.”

The actress starred as Sam Puckett on “iCarly” from 2007 to 2012 and “Sam and Cat” from 2013 to 2014. 

"I resent my career in a lot of ways," she continued, calling her previous roles "cheesy" and "embarrassing."

"I did the shows that I was on from like 13 to 21 and by 15 I was already embarrassed ... My friends at 15 weren't watching this. They weren't like 'Oh cool, you're on this Nickelodeon show,'" McCurdy told Faris. "It was embarrassing."

She said she wasn't actually interested in acting - she did it to financially support her family 

The actress explained that she quit after her mother died in 2013, partially because she initially didn't want to act. 

McCurdy said her mom introduced her to acting when she was 6 years old. Her family didn't have a lot of money and she was the main breadwinner for her family by age 10 or 11.

"Always, always, always acting was difficult for me in the sense of the anxiety aspect," she added, noting the stress and pressure she felt.

She said she struggled to get her nerves under control and she'd "pee 15 times" and her heart would be pounding during auditions. 

McCurdy has no plans to return to acting and is now focused on writing and directing

McCurdy took on a few acting roles after "Sam and Cat" wrapped but is now focused on writing and directing, which she said is "going great."

Her most recent acting project is her one-woman show called "I'm Glad My Mom Died," a dark comedy that debuted in 2020. 

McCurdy told Faris she almost didn't appear in it because of her nerves and the feeling of not wanting to "f---ing act anymore." But McCurdy said she might act again if she gets the chance to work with a director who she really admires. 

She is one of the few former lead cast members who will not be returning to the upcoming "iCarly" reboot on Paramount Plus.

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