Jerry Trainor

Gerald William "Jerry" Trainor (born January 21, 1977)^[1] is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as "Crazy" Steve in Drake & Josh and Spencer Shay in the teen sitcom iCarly and its revival series of the same name, winning three Kids' Choice Awards for his performances. He also appeared in T.U.F.F. Puppy as Dudley Puppy, for which he received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. Since 2004, Trainor has worked primarily on the Nickelodeon network. Outside of this, he has had recurring and guest roles on young adult-oriented shows on the Disney Channel and Netflix as well as in the more mature shows Crossing Jordan and 2 Broke Girls.

Jerry Trainor
Trainor in April 2022
Born	Gerald William Trainor (1977-01-21) January 21, 1977 (age 47)[1] San Diego, California, U.S.[1]
Education	University of California, Santa Barbara (B.F.A.)
Occupations	Actor musician
Years active	2000–present

Early life and education

Trainor was born and raised in San Diego, California, the son of Bill Trainor, a retired Navy fighter pilot and public defender, and Madelyn Trainor, a retired high school calculus teacher. He has an older sister named Liz. He is of Irish, Croatian, and German descent.^[2]

Trainor grew up in the San Diego community of Scripps Ranch and attended the University of San Diego High School.^[3] He studied drama at the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.^[1][4] He studied improvisation at The Groundlings school in Los Angeles. Before becoming an actor, he worked at San Diego SeaWorld.^[5]

Acting career

Trainor in 2012

His first television role was in the MTV series Undressed as Eric. Some of his other television credits include Law & Order True Crime, Angel, and Malcolm in the Middle. His first recurring TV role was as Brian "the A.V. guy" on Crossing Jordan. He has had several small roles in films such as the science fiction drama Donnie Darko and the cheerleader comedy Bring It On Again. He appeared on the web series Hungry Girl.^[6]

Trainor had a recurring role on Drake & Josh as "Crazy Steve”, a movie theater worker, from 2004 to 2007. He starred in iCarly as Spencer Shay, the older brother and guardian of Miranda Cosgrove's title character from 2007 to 2012 (he and Cosgrove had previously acted together on Drake & Josh, as Cosgrove played the role of the title duo's little sister). For iCarly, he won three Kids' Choice Awards. He completed the 2008 music-themed comedy Wreckless Epic, in which he stars. Trainor starred in the animated series T.U.F.F. Puppy as the voice of Dudley Puppy, for which he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program.

Trainor was involved in a World of Warcraft video series titled Project Lore, playing the Draenei shaman Goggins. He was replaced by Jeff Cannata after leaving the series in February 2009. He also starred alongside iCarly co-star Jennette McCurdy in the Nickelodeon TV movie Best Player, where he played Quincy Johnson, a video-game enthusiast whose main competition in a video-gaming contest is McCurdy's character.

In 2013, Trainor starred in the short-lived series Wendell & Vinnie as Vinnie, the uncle and guardian of Buddy Handleson's character Wendell. He played Commander Michael Sullivan for both seasons of the Halo in-universe podcast Hunt the Truth. In 2017, Trainor voiced the recurring role of Commander Cone on Bunsen Is a Beast.

Trainor at the 2021 Kids Choice Awards

Since 2018, Trainor and Mike O'Gorman have starred in a comedy Web series called The Porch, which can be found on YouTube. In 2018, Trainor starred in the film Cover Versions written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Todd Berger. The film premiered at the 2018 Palm Springs Film Festival and was acquired for distribution by Sony Pictures. Parts of the film were shot on location during the KAABOO Del Mar music festival (in coastal northern San Diego County). Trainor's performance was heralded as being edgy and thought-provoking.

In March 2021, it was announced that iCarly was being revived. The series premiered on Paramount+ in June of that year, with Trainor reprising his role as Spencer Shay.^[7]

Music career

In October 2015, Trainor formed the band Nice Enough People with guitarist-vocalist Mike O'Gorman, drummer Andrew Zuber, and guitarist Allison Scagliotti, who also happened to be a co-star of Trainor's in Drake & Josh as the character Mindy Crenshaw.^[8] Trainor plays bass for the group.^[8] The group released its first EP, Hanover Hideaway, on June 22, 2016.^[9]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Donnie Darko	Lanky Kid	Cameo[10]
	Evolution	Tommy	Cameo[citation needed]
	Wayside	Tommy	Direct-to-video film
2004	Bring It On Again	Smug Guy	Direct-to-video film
2007	Waking Dreams	Andrew	Direct-to-video film
2008	Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh	Crazy Steve	TV film
2009	Factory 9	Roland Waters	Direct-to-video film
	Wreckless Epic: The Journey to SXSW	Kelly Kirkwood
	The Gamers	Himself	TV film
2011	Best Player	Quincy "Q" Johnson	TV film
	iParty with Victorious	Spencer Shay	TV film
2012	Holiday Road	Doug	Segment: "October"
2013	Pororo, The Racing Adventure	Walter Featherbottom	Voice role
2017	Cover Versions	Travis
2018	Alex & Me	"Nigel"/Nick	Direct-to-video film
2022	Snow Day	Snowplow Man	TV film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Undressed	Eric	2 episodes
2001	Malcolm in the Middle	Private Edwards	Episode: "Evacuation"
2002	My Wife and Kids	Star Trek fan	Episode: "The Bowling Show"
	Angel	Jared	Episode: "Supersymmetry"
	ER	Darius	Episode: "One Can Only Hope"
2004–2005	Crossing Jordan	Brian - A.V. Guy	Recurring role; 5 episodes
2004–2007	Drake & Josh	"Crazy" Steve	Recurring role; 10 episodes
2007–2012	iCarly	Spencer Shay	Main role; also Director: "iApril Fools" and "iLost My Head in Vegas"
2009	BrainSurge	Himself	Contestant
2010	The Penguins of Madagascar	Eddie (Cockroach)	Voice role; episode: "Stop Bugging Me"
2010–2015	T.U.F.F. Puppy	Dudley Puppy	Main voice role
2010–2013	Victorious	Audience member	Episode: "Jade Dumps Beck" (uncredited)[citation needed]
		Spencer Shay	Episode: "April Fools Blank"
2011	That Movie Show	N/A	1 episode
2012–2013	Doc McStuffins	Will	Recurring voice role; 4 episodes
2012	Simian Undercover Detective Squad	Kelly the Elastic Man / Heptagan Scientist	2 episodes
2013	Wendell & Vinnie	Vinnie	Main role
2014	Sam & Cat	"Crazy" Steve / Himself	2 episodes
	Living the Dream	Cal Logan	Television film
2016	2 Broke Girls	Lenin	Episode: "And the Partnership Hits The Fan"[11]
	Still the King	P.M.S. Leader	3 episodes
	Star vs. the Forces of Evil	Roy	Voice role; episode: "Goblin Dogs"
2017	Bunsen Is a Beast	Commander Cone	Voice role; 3 episodes
	Law & Order True Crime	Will Canton	Episode: "The Menendez Murders: Episode 3"
2018	The Adventures of Kid Danger	The Wahoo Punch Bro	Voice role; episode: "The Wahoo Punch Bro"
	Henry Danger	Joey	Episode: "Thumb War"
2019	No Good Nick	Todd	Recurring role; 5 episodes
2020	Apocalypse Goals	News Janitor	Recurring role; 3 episodes
	Bunk'd	Dave	Episode: "My Fairy Lady"
2021–2022	Tooned In	Himself	Co-host (season 2)[12]
2021–2023	iCarly	Spencer Shay	Main role; also Producer

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	iCarly	Spencer Shay	Voice role
2010	iCarly: iDream in Toons
	iCarly 2: iJoin the Click!
2014	Cars: Fast as Lightning	Todd Marcus

Discography

• Hanover Hideaway (2016)^[13]

Soundtrack appearances

Year	Title	Song
2022	Snow Day	"These Kids"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Refs
2009	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor: Comedy	iCarly	Nominated	[14][15]
2010	Australian Kids' Choice Awards	Big Kid Award		Won	[16][17]
		LOL Award (shared with ensemble)		Won	[16]
2011	UK Kids' Choice Awards	Nick UK's Funniest Person		Won	[18]
	Meus Prêmios Nick Brazil	Funniest Character		Nominated	[19][20]
2012	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite TV Sidekick		Nominated	[21]
2013	Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program	T.U.F.F. Puppy	Nominated	[22]
2022	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Male TV Star (Family)	iCarly	Nominated	[23]

References

1. "Jerry Train or Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards". TV Guide.
2. Trainor, Jerry [@jerrytrainor] (April 17, 2013). "@SeddieMania I'm Irish, of course I want some of your baked potato! Duh! Get it in my stomach now!" (Tweet). Retrieved March 3, 2021 – via Twitter.
3. "San Diego native stars in new Nickelodeon series". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2013-02-16. Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
4. "Jerry Trainor". sfsketchfest2015.sched.com. 2015. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
5. "San Diego native stars in new Nickelodeon series - the San Diego Union-Tribune". Archived from the original on 2021-09-21. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
6. HungryGirlTV (December 15, 2008). "Fun With... The Hungry Girl Book". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved November 7, 2011 – via YouTube.
7. "iCarly's Miranda Cosgrove, Jerry Trainor and Nathan Kress to Reunite at the Kids' Choice Awards". PEOPLE.com. Archived from the original on 2021-03-07. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
8. Grant, Stacey (April 12, 2016). "Crazy Steve And Mindy From Drake & Josh Started A Band With A Very Appropriate Name". MTV News. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
9. Nice Enough People [@NiceEnoughPpl] (June 21, 2016). "It's here! Our debut EP "Hanover Hideaway" now on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify & Amazon etc. Here's the iTunes link" (Tweet). Retrieved August 23, 2016 – via Twitter.
10. Sethi, Arjun (1 June 2020). "'iCarly': What has happened with Jerry Trainor (Spencer) and how it looks today? - News series". Code List. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
11. "Goofing around on the set of Two Broke Girls". facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
12. "Exclusive: 'iCarly's Jerry Trainor Co-Hosts S2 of Nick Trivia". beta.animationmagazine.net.
13. "Hanover Hideaway by Nice Enough People". niceenoughpeople.bandcamp.com.
14. "Teen Choice Awards 2009 nominees". Los Angeles Times. June 15, 2009. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
15. "Announcing the Winners of the 2009 Teen Choice Awards!". PopSugar. August 9, 2009. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
16. "Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2010 Winners List & Orange Carpet Video!". Take40. October 8, 2010. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
17. "2010 Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards Nominations List!". Take40. August 18, 2010. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
18. "Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2011 Winners!". Fun Kids. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
19. "Nickelodeon anuncia finalistas do Meus Prêmios Nick 2011" [Nickelodeon announces 2011 Nick Awards finalists]. ANMTV (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
20. "Nickelodeon divulga os vencedores do Meus Prêmios Nick 2011" [Nickelodeon announces the winners of My Nick Awards 2011]. ANMTV (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on August 2, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
21. "Lista completa de ganadores Kids Choice Awards 2012" [Complete list of winners Kids Choice Awards 2012]. Solo Famosos (in Spanish). Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
22. "Microsoft Word - day_1213_nominations_v02.doc" (PDF). The Emmys. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 12, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
23. "Miranda Cosgrove and Rob Gronkowski to Co-Host "Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards 2022," Live on Saturday, April 9, at 7:30 P.M. (ET/PT)" (Press release). Nickelodeon. March 9, 2022. Archived from the original on August 25, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2022 – via The Futon Critic.

External links

• Jerry Trainor at IMDb
• Jerry Trainor on Twitter
• Jerry Trainor at Nick.com
• Jerry Trainor on Instagram
• Jerry Trainor at AllMovie