Anyone who knows me, knows I don't walk away from a commitment, but I had a commitment to myself. Yes, there were times Nickelodeon made it more difficult than it needed to be, but there were also times they made it easier.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I'm forever in debt to Nickelodeon. It made me who I am today.
When I make a commitment I stick to it.
I started acting as a teenager, but it wasn't until I moved to New York when I was 20 that I made any kind of commitment.
In my early shows, I wanted to put myself through a new childhood, disintegrating my whole identity to let the real one emerge.
I have no problem with commitment - you can't have a real relationship without it. I can flip on a switch in my brain, and even if the next Brad Pitt is standing next to me, I won't look at him. But I can also turn that switch off, and then I collect attractive boys.
Even while starting out I took things very seriously; I wasn't the sort of kid that would do a doll commercial or do a series for Nickelodeon. They asked me to do silly things, and I wasn't a silly kid.
It was difficult when I was very young because I was so separated from my family. When I was at school or acting in a play, I felt very much part of something, and then it would always change, and I would be by myself.
I remember when I was a kid, with the acting thing, I resented it because, you know, you don't want to do what your parents want you to do.
I owe a lot to Nickelodeon.
In my late teens and early 20s, I worked hard on my roles, but, to be honest, I didn't feel any special commitment to acting.