When former child star Drake Bell went public that he had been sexually abused by a dialogue coach when he was younger, he understood that coming forward wouldn’t affect only himself.
“What’s the story that he’s going to get?,” Bell said in a recent interview, referring to his 3-year-old son. “Is somebody else going to tell him my story, or am I going to be around to tell him and share my story?”
Bell, who starred in Nickelodeon’s “Drake & Josh” and “The Amanda Show,” told “Today” that his toddler inspired him to appear on the buzz-worthy docuseries “Quiet on Set,” in which he named dialogue coach Brian Peck as his abuser. “The decisions that I make in my life, moving forward, are no longer for me,” he said in the interview published Monday. A representative for Peck did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
In “Quiet on Set,” which premiered in March, Bell recalls the ongoing abuse he suffered under Peck. Bell tells producers that the dialogue coach had befriended him and gradually “worked his way into every aspect of my life.”
Peck (who is not related to Bell’s “Drake & Josh” co-star Josh Peck), was convicted of child sex abuse in 2004, but his victim’s name was undisclosed at the time. Bell acknowledged in the series that he was the “John Doe” referenced in the case. Brian Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender.
Bell came forward 20 years after Peck’s conviction and after he had contemplated sharing his story while in rehab in 2023.
“I could’ve either allowed this to destroy me or make me stronger for him,” Bell says, again referring to his son, whom he shares with wife Janet Von Schmeling.
After his “Quiet on Set” appearance, Bell received an outpouring of support from former Nickelodeon stars, including Josh Peck, on-screen mom Nancy Sullivan and “Zoey 101” actor Alexa Nikolas. Former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider, whose alleged inappropriate behavior with young actors takes center stage in the docuseries, recalled in a March YouTube video the support he said he provided Bell and his mother at the time of Peck’s conviction.
“That was probably the darkest part of my career,” Schneider said.
Bell, in both “Quiet on Set” and his “Today” interview, avoided sharing specific details of the abuse he suffered by Peck. “It’s too graphic,” he told “Today.”
The interview Monday also touched on Bell’s previous legal trouble, including convictions for DUI and child endangerment. Bell also spoke about his substance abuse, rehab and how a 2023 disappearance in Florida was part of his efforts to have his loved ones understand his trauma.
When asked whether he would allow his son to pursue a TV career, Bell said “it’s so hard to just immediately say ‘no.’” His own acting career, Bell said, came with both “unspeakable things” and “amazing experiences.”
Touting the “way that entertainment touches lives and how we’re moved by the stores that we tell,” Bell said, “it’s a very fine line.”
