UPDATED: Feb. 3, 2018 at 9:48 a.m.

Josh Peck wasn’t on the Goldstein Auditorium stage last night for more than a minute before someone yelled “HUG ME BROTHA!”

The line is a reference to “Drake & Josh,” the 2004-2007 Nickelodeon buddy comedy that many of the more than 1,400 audience members in attendance recognized Peck for starring in.

The Hillel Jewish Student Union invited the actor and social media personality to sit down with Syracuse University senior Erik Benjamin on Thursday and discuss his Jewish background, life in the film and television industry and transition to a career in social media.

Or at least Benjamin sat down. Peck was on his feet performing physical comedy bits and impressions.

He imitated actors he’s worked with like Chris Hemsworth, John Stamos and Tom Cruise, college sorority girls during recruitment week and his Jewish mother, Barbara – who believes she should be introduced to Peck’s audience through her own advice show: “Life Support with Barbara.”

Some students in attendance didn’t know the event was sponsored by Hillel, and organizers hoped bringing a higher-profile guest like Peck to campus would help promote the student group.

The Jewish student organization tries to bring in a major speaker annually but that hasn’t happened for the last couple of years, said president Emily Adelman. The organization feels that they’ve fallen off of the Student Association’s radar, so they wanted to bring in a speaker that would get them both funding and publicity to the campus at large.

“We wanted to make it a Hillel event but also obviously available to anybody on campus because that’s how we view our organization,” she said. “We brought somebody fun, and we wanted to share him with the whole campus.”

Ally Moreo | Senior Staff Photographer

Peck discussed his Jewish identity, noting that his mother and his New York City upbringing kept him immersed in Jewish culture, even though he wasn’t strictly observant.

For instance, he had a Broadway-themed bar mitzvah, but the ceremony and reception were held at an Italian restaurant. He said his mother told him “‘Son, you’re doing 15 minutes of Hebrew, and then we’re getting to the main course.’”

Peck’s childhood was far from traditional, as he started working for Nickelodeon during his teenage years. “I didn’t necessarily get the normal sort of high school life,” he said. “But I’m not sure I would’ve done well in that scenario.”

He did attend “set school” while working on “Drake & Josh,” and claims that was where he won over his co-star Drake Bell. Peck explained Bell didn’t like him until he told a joke that made Bell laugh.

Barbara saw that her son had an affinity for performing from an early age. Peck said she helped him pursue it without being as overbearing as other parents on set. “There’s a lot of crazy stage moms,” Peck said. “I’ve definitely seen some drama on the mean streets of Nickelodeon.”

Peck describes “Drake & Josh” fans as a cult following, but one that he’s proud of. “I’ll have kids come up to me and be like ‘Dude you’re my childhood!’ and I’ll be like ‘You’re 28!,’” he said.  “What’s cool about the show is that it was about a blended family — two divorcees coming together, stepkids having to, like, figure it out.”

“It’s relatable forever, and it’s truly about family and love.”

Ally Moreo | Senior Staff Photographer

In the years following “Drake & Josh,” Peck went on to act in both big-budget and indie films. He also started creating Vines before the platform shut down last year.

Now, Peck has ventured into YouTube, where his channel has over 930,000 subscribers.

While he was initially apprehensive about the transition from TV to social media, Peck now wants to encourage young creators to do the same.

“If you think you’re doing something cool that makes you laugh or entertains, or you think is interesting – make it. And upload it,” he said. “And it will find its audience.”

Before stepping onstage at Syracuse, Peck and Benjamin brainstormed inside jokes that would win the crowd over.

At one point, Peck decided to flip the script so he was the one questioning Benjamin, who described the experiencing of interviewing someone he’s a fan of as daunting, largely because he didn’t want the student body to be disappointed.

The first thing Benjamin asked for was the time, to which Peck replied, “It’s 8:02, and Georgetown still sucks!”

Benjamin later noted that Peck didn’t go to college — but what if he had? “I’d be here in Syracuse, probably sick with the mumps.”

CLARIFICATION: In a previous version of this post, the Hillel Jewish Student Union’s goal to promote itself as a student group by bringing a higher-profile guest to Syracuse University’s campus was unclear.

Published on February 2, 2018 at 1:30 pm

Contact Erin:
ekgavle@syr.edu