Actor Drake Bell is breaking his silence over a horrific part of his experience working at Nickelodeon as a child actor. He revealed on Investigation Discovery’s docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV that dialogue coach Brian Peck sexually assaulted him multiple times. In 2004, Peck pleaded no contest to charges of oral copulation with a minor under 16 and performing a lewd act with a 14- or 15-year-old. Bell’s identity was kept private until now.
Bell began acting at age 5, which was around the same time his parents divorced. In 1999 he was cast in The Amanda Show on the children’s network. This is where he met Peck, a dialogue coach, during filming of the second season.
“Brian and I became really close because we had a lot of the same interests, which looking back, I think that was probably a little calculated,” Bell revealed. His dad tried to step in but received pushback. Peck eventually became Bell’s manager and he often spent the night at his house.
This gave Peck the perfect opportunity to victimize Bell. He took advantage one night. “I was sleeping on the couch where I usually sleep and I woke up to him … I opened my eyes and I woke up and he was … he was sexually assaulting me,” Bell recalled. “And I froze, and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react.”
This was not a one-time occurrence. “You know anytime I had an audition or anytime I needed to work on dialogue or anything, I somehow ended up back at Brian's house,” Bell went on to say. “And it just got worse, and worse, and worse, and worse, and I was just trapped. I had no way out. The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal.”
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Peck’s abuse took its toll on Bell, who turned to drugs and alcohol to self-medicate.
“I often look back at that time and wonder how in the world I survived," he stated. "I remember all of the abusive events, but everything outside of that is very blurry to me, which is a bummer because I experienced a lot of great things in my life and my career during this time. But it was so overshadowed and ruined by what I was dealing with on the inside that it made it really hard for me.”
In 2021, Peck pleaded guilty to two charges of inappropriate behavior online with an underage fan. He served two years’ probation and completed community service.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault Hotline provides confidential 24/7 support. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or chat online at RAINN.
