Jerry Trainor

Gerald "Jerry" William Trainor (born January 21, 1977) is an American television and movie actor. As of 2007, he stars as Spencer Shay in the Nickelodeon TV show series iCarly.

Biography
Born and raised in San Diego, far from the clamor of Hollywood, Trainor lived in the same childhood home until venturing to college. His father was a Navy commander of a fighter squadron and his mother was a calculus teacher at USD High School, the same high school Trainor attended. He credits both of his parents for his comedic bent and his ability to balance it with a serious side.

The love of laughter and the spotlight hit in elementary school, where a “Hansel and Gretel” spoof inspired him to explore the silly side of life. Growing up, the actor excelled in math and considered becoming an architect but he opted to build a career in comedy instead. He got more serious about comedy at University of San Diego High School, and roles in the “Pajama Game,” “The Matchmaker,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Up the Down Staircase” and “Sugar” followed. Trainor attended UC Santa Barbara for the quintessential college experience, combining academics and partying on the beach. He graduated from UCSB with a BFA in acting – but not before a Hollywood agent caught his one-man comedy show at college and urged him to audition in Los Angeles.

Career
His first role was on television in the risque MTV series Undressed. Some of his other television credits include, Law & Order, Drake & Josh, Angel, and Malcolm in the Middle. His first recurring TV role was as Brian "The A.V. guy" on Crossing Jordan. In his appearance on Drake & 'Josh, he was known for his role as Crazy Steve. All the while, he kept his day jobs at Starbucks, the Geffen Theater box office and Center Theater Group phone room. Jerry’s recurring role as Crazy Steve led to his first regular series gig when he was cast as Spencer, an off-centered aspiring artist and brother and guardian of his teenaged sister Carly on Nickelodeon’s mega-hit television series iCarly. Trainor’s portrayal of Spencer garnered the actor his first Teen Choice nomination for Choice TV Actor: Comedy in 2009 and a nomination for Big Kid Award at the 2010 Australia Kids’ Choice Awards, which Trainor also co-hosted.

He also has had a number of small roles in films such as the science fiction-horror film Donnie Da'rko and the cheerleader comedy Bring It On Again, He also appeared in Victorious when Trina was doing her one woman show as he was in the audience. Jerry also played the mad Doctor/Various other charcthers in the the Henson Alternative webseries "S.U.D.S", which was suppose to be released in 2009 on Film.com.We have only seen a trailer and some pics taken from Jerry's Facebook page (Pics from Trainor Fans

His voice-over roles include: The Penguins of Madagascar (cockroach) and the lead character Dudley Puppy from Tuff Puppy

Outside of film and television, Jerry was in a World of Warcraft video series called Project Lore. He played the healer Goggins who is a Draenei shaman. He left the show on February 7, 2009.

JT Interview Quotes

 * If it seems like doing comedy on a sitcom comes naturally to Jerry, it may be because he has been training for a role like this most of his life… even if he didn’t know it. 
 * JT:“When I was in grade school, I used to watch the older kids do sort of sketches. I was enamored with that. I was such an easy audience member. I was always cracking up and laughing and being goofy. But I loved seeing the older kids do sketch comedy and stuff like that. Then I started doing plays in high school and that was it. I was just hooked. We turned everything into sketch comedy basically… plays that did not call for it. We were all just trying to make each other laugh. That was it. I knew then. And then I ended up going to college at UC Santa Barbara. My plan was, ‘I’m definitely going to L.A. but I want to get a fall back career or a fall back degree.’ And then I just ended up majoring in theater. No fall back at all.”


 * It turns out that he didn’t need one anyway. He started landing parts here and there. JT:“When I got to L.A., the first two things I got were a small role in ‘Donnie Darko’ with Ashley Tisdale actually. She and I had a very small role together. We just sort of asked a question to a motivational speaker played by Patrick Swayze. Do you remember MTV’s “Undressed?” I did three episodes of that. It was like the late night MTV soap. Every new actor in town at the time had to get on MTV’s “Undressed.” Every young actor at that time – you had to have that your resume. It was like a rite of passage,” he jokes.
 * His family and friends could not have been more supportive of him, even while he was waiting on his JT:“big break.” “They were just like, ‘You’re good at it! Do it! Keep going!’” he says of his parents. “My Dad was in the Navy and then he put himself through Law School at night and became a public defender. My Mom was a teacher. My parents have that philosophy where it’s like, ‘You’ve got this life… do what you want with it. There’s no reason not too.’” As for his friends, they knew him well enough to know that being an actor worked for Jerry. “I am a weirdo,” he says pointedly. “Everybody knows. I’m just a goofball. It’s one of those things where I think people just were like, ‘Yeah, you gotta do that… that makes sense.’”
 * It was while playing “Crazy Steve” that Jerry first heard about a little show that would ultimately change his life forever.JT:“I remember Dan coming to me with the concept,” he says when asked if he remembers the first time he heard the name “iCarly.” “And really it was more like, ‘Hey, we’ve got a show based on Miranda now and she’s going to have an older brother. We’re thinking of you.’ I was like, ‘Oh wow! That’s pretty weird considering I played a psychopath in your last show,’” he jokes. “It’s a natural progression… psychopath to caretaker. I was obviously very honored and flattered that they thought of me. And then I auditioned and it was a blast.”'


 * The versatile actor is also super excited about a recent side job that he has taken, though there are no plans to give up his day job any time soon. He now provides the voice of “Dudley Puppy” on Nickelodeon’s new cartoon “T.U.F.F. Puppy.”JT: “One of the head’s of casting at Nickelodeon was a fan of my work doing ‘Crazy Steve’ and ‘Spencer,’” he says of how this gig came about. “She was like, ‘You’d be so great for animation.’ And I was like, ‘I agree! I want to do that! I love cartoons! I want to do voices on cartoons.’ She’s like, ‘We just have to find the right part.’ So she started setting me up with auditions. It wasn’t always right. I’d do my best here and try a different voice here and there. And then “T.U.F.F. Puppy” came along and they were like ‘Oh yeah, this is by Butch Hartman and he did Fairly Odd Parents.’ I’m like ‘Oh I’ve heard of that.’ I hadn’t seen it but I was like ‘Yeah, I know that!’ I went in and we just had a good time. We were just joking around in the audition room. They liked it. They thought it fit. It’s been like total dream come true… best job ever… besides iCarly! Best voice over job ever!”
 * Jerry describes “Dudley” as “an energetic, good natured, absent minded, super detective.” 
 * JT:“When you read a T.U.F.F. Puppy script… it is as fast paced as it gets. It’s joke, joke, joke, boom, boom, boom. In the description, you can see the physical humor that’s going to happen. That was one of those things where I was like, ‘Oh I get it! I get this guy!’ I get how cocky he is. Like he thinks he’s smart, he thinks he’s the best but he’s not. He’s really absent minded. He tries hard but that usually ends up in him making a mistake. Then he redeems himself in the end which is always the best. That’s the nature of comedy, someone who is flawed, making their mistakes, which are the funny parts… then overcoming those flaws in the end.
 * 'He also says that he can relate to this cartoon counterpart.' JT:“I definitely am bumbling at times and make really stupid faux pas and knock things over because I’m gangly and I’m tall so I’m always in the way. I have my physical foibles. So I think that’s probably where that comes from is just growing up lanky and goofy.”
 * Creating a cartoon for a new generation made us wonder what animation impacted Jerry as a kid?JT: “Growing up, I loved ‘Transformers’ and ‘He-man’ and ‘G.I. Joe’ and the ‘Smurfs’. Anything ‘Looney Tunes!’ ‘T.U.F.F. Puppy’ is very ‘Looney Tunes’ to me. I remember watching ‘Looney Tunes’ and my Dad LOVED it. My Dad loved watching Wylie Coyote, and Bugs Bunny. I didn’t get why he thought it was funny until you go back and look at those cartoons now and there are jokes that are just completely over your head for a kid. I think that’s what ‘T.U.F.F. Puppy’ has, sort of the wackiness for the kids, but has pop culture references for the grown ups. It’s real snappy, real quick.”
 * When Jerry isn’t working you can usually find him doing totally normal things like watching TV or playing video games. 
 * JT: “Well, I just taught my dog how to shake,” he says proudly when asked about how he spends his spare time. “I like to ride my motorcycle. I like playing video games. Right now I’m doing a lot of work on my house. I bought a house last year and I’ve been fixing it up. Catching up on TV that I’ve missed and things like that. I love eating out. I feel like I’m making a Match.com profile,” he jokes.
 * Speaking of eating out, we’re sure that the actor who makes viewers laugh on a daily basis, gets recognized a lot in public. Is there a good way for fans to approach him?JT: “Swinging a sword or some sort of medieval spiked device,” he deadpans. “Screaming bloody murder with half of their face painted blue. That’s the best way that I can think of off the top of my head,” he says before turning somewhat serious. “It seems like kids are the only people that approach. Adults are like ‘Oh, I don’t want to bother him. I’m not going to go up.’ So that rarely happens. But kids, they have no filter so they’ll just come up. They’re always really polite and just super shocked. I love it! Every time they come up, I love it! There’s no right way, just with a smile on your face.”
 * Something that puts a smile on Jerry’s face is being able to help those less fortunate whether it be of the human or animal kind.JT:“I’m really passionate about dogs and rescuing animals. I rescued my dog and that was a really great experience for me,” he says when the conversation turns to charities that he likes to be involved with. “Anything with kids,” he continues. “Because even though I’m on a kids show, kids have had an impact on ME! They let me do so much by being an entertainer for them I want to give back there.”
 * 'So what advice would this “older brother” have for young performers who are thinking about pursuing a career in show business?'JT:“My advice as far as people who want to be actors and movie makers, I would say the best thing to do is do your own thing. Make a short film with your buddies. Put it up on YouTube. That’s the greatest thing about the Internet is the fact that you don’t need to be in L.A. now to make a movie. You don’t need to be in Hollywood. It helps as far as acting goes because a lot of the casting comes out of here, but even if you’re here that’s not a guaranteed in to get anything. I have friends that have been here for 12 years that are still struggling. But the ones who are doing their own thing… they’re finding their creative nourishment. They’re always doing the next thing and they’re having fun. And there is a better chance that you’ll be seen if you’re in a sketch comedy group or if you’re doing plays or short films. If you’re self starting, if you’re getting it done on your own, it will serve you better because you’re making it on your own terms. You’ll be shown in a way you want to be shown. You’re not trying to fit in to somebody else’s idea of what you should do.”
 * Jerry is very happy where he is now. JT: “Nickelodeon has been amazing to me and for me. I was in L.A. getting small parts on shows here and there and a couple of little movie spots. But nothing really hit until I did ‘Crazy Steve’ on ‘Drake and Josh’ and the rest is history. They provide me with such a rich platform. The best thing about it is that it’s in the youth market so as I grow up, this audience is going to grow up. I would hope they’ll want to see me sort of graduate to more grown up endeavors. It’s been wonderful. It’s been very symbiotic. I love doing the wacky, funny stuff and they seem to love having me. It’s been really great and a good partnership.
 * 'TG: What might TG readers be surprised to learn about working in TV////'Jerry: We eat a lot of fried food, it's very long hours. There's a long time between takes sometimes so you just go into you're room and sleep on a couch.'''
 * TG: What's your fave memory of summer?Jerry://// 'Playing hide-and-seek till the sun goes down in my neighbourhood, l lived in a cul-de-sac and there were kids in every house and we'd just come out and play hide-and-seek till it was night time![15]'
 * TG: Finish this sentence, it's not summer without...Jerry://// Popsicles!
 * 'KZ: Are you similar to your character Spencer on iCarly?'JT: I'm definitely calmer. Spencer is a hyperactive, constantly. He's a lot more creative and artistic, but my creativity comes out in playing him.
 * K'Z: If you could host your own web show, what would it be about?JT: 'It would totally be about vegging out, it would be us talking, lounging around in massive orange beanbags, reading K-Zone magazine!
 * 'KZ: Have you pulled any awesome pranks on your cast mates?JT: There was a day where Nathan, Janette and Miranda were sitting at the counter looking at the computer. They were distracted, so I planted myself on the other side of the counter while they weren't watching. The camera starting rolling, they turned around and in the middle of the take, I just jumped up and scared the pants off them!
 * JT on Spencer: “Spencer is a carpe diem guy to a fault. He’s fun-loving, eternally optimistic and eccentric,” says Trainor of the character whose wacky creations include a fan made of hammers and a Christmas tree adorned with plastic noses. He continues, “In many ways, Carly is the more mature sibling. I goof off a lot off-screen, but Spencer and I both know there’s a time and place to reel it in and be responsible.”
 * JT: “I've always been the gangly goofball who is awkwardly taller than everybody and will do anything to get a laugh.”