Photo: Brian Kimsley
Jennette McCurdytried to quit acting before landing her role oniCarly.
The actress reveals in a new excerpt from her upcoming memoirI’m Glad My Mom Diedthat she was rebuffed when she first told her mother, Debra McCurdy, she wanted to leave the industry.
“‘I don’t want to act anymore,’ I say before I even realize I’ve said it. Mom looks at me in the rearview mirror. A mixture of shock and disappointment fills her eyes. I immediately regret saying anything.”
McCurdy’s mother reacts: “‘Don’t be silly, you love acting. It’s your favorite thing in the world,’ Mom says in a way that makes it sound like a threat.”
Brian Kimsley
Though McCurdy defends her view, the child ultimately gives in to her mom’s opinion. “‘You can’t quit!” she sobs. ‘This was our chance! This was ouuuuur chaaaaance!'" McCurdy writes of her mother.
“She bangs on the steering wheel, accidentally hitting the horn. Mascara trickles down her cheeks. She’s hysterical, like I was in theHollywood Homicideaudition. Her hysteria frightens me and demands to be taken care of.”
So, McCurdy responds, “Nevermind.”
Later, she’ll go on to star iniCarly, and the shorter-lived Nickelodeon seriesSam & CatalongsideAriana Grande.
McCurdy has long been vocal about her decision to quit acting, which didn’t actually come until after her mom’s death. In a March 2021 conversation on McCurdy’sEmpty Insidepodcast, she expanded on the general unhappiness she held while acting.
“I was a famous 19-year-old, and making a bunch of money, and I felt like I had everything at my fingertips,“McCurdy said. “But I was deeply unhappy, and I actually really resented my life because I didn’t like the projects that I was a part of.”
source: people.com
