Whatever Happened To Freddie From iCarly?
On Nickelodeon's "iCarly," Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove) and Sam Puckett (Jennette McCurdy) might be the high-energy personalities of their hit web show of the same name, but there's someone behind the scenes who helps them look and sound their best during every installment: technical producer Freddie Benson (Nathan Kress). Kind, intelligent, and a little geeky, Freddie doesn't have the easiest time in life. His affections toward Carly go unreciprocated, he's constantly butting heads with Sam, and his mother, Marissa Benson (Mary Scheer) still treats him like he's a child. Still, things don't turn out too badly for him, with (spoiler alert) Carly finally admitting her feelings for him in the "iCarly" reboot.
But what about Kress, the actor behind everyone's favorite loveable nerd? Did life also turn out pretty well for him after his tenure on Nickelodeon? Given his wide-ranging filmography, successful dive into the world of directing, and ever-growing family, it's safe to say that it did.
Into the Storm was his first major role after iCarly
After "iCarly" came to an end in 2012, Nathan Kress appeared in singular episodes of several shows, including "Sam & Cat," Major Crimes" and "Growing Up Fisher." It wasn't until 2014 that he landed his first major post-Freddie Benson role as Trey in the found footage disaster film "Into the Storm." Trey is a high schooler who, with his vice principal father Gary Fuller (Richard Armitage) and older brother Donnie (Max Deacon), must attempt to survive the tornadoes that are coming to their town.
In an interview with Backstage, Kress revealed that he originally auditioned to portray Donnie: "A couple weeks passed and they said they found someone a little older looking and instead, they were going to retool the script and change the Trey character from Donnie's best friend to Donnie's younger brother. So it worked out!"
Filming "Into the Storm" wasn't easy, with Kress and his co-stars soaked and freezing most days. Unfortunately, braving such uncomfortable conditions may not have been worth it. The film was moderately successful financially, but reviews were less than stellar for "Into the Storm."
He got married in 2015 to London Elise Moore
"Into the Storm" may not have been a huge blockbuster hit for Nathan Kress, but something positive definitely came out of the experience: meeting the love of his life, London Elise Moore, who plays a cheerleader in the film. Kress quickly hit it off with Moore, who worked as a stunt woman, stand-in, and actress, and, by 2015, the two were Instagram-official. In February of that year, Kress posted a photo of Moore visiting him on the set of "Henry Danger." He captioned the post, "When the lady comes to visit you at work," with a heart-eyes emoji.
Kress proposed to Moore in May 2015. As the sun set on the horizon, he became an engaged man. He tweeted at the time, "I dunno, man. I just have a feeling that today's gonna be a really good day." November 2015 saw Kress and Moore tie the knot in a ceremony that was attended by family and friends, including "iCarly" stars Miranda Cosgrove, Jennette McCurdy, and Jerry Trainor.
According to Kress, some "iCarly" fans struggled to accept the actor's marriage. He told MTV News, "Sometimes people have a little bit of trouble separating reality from a television show." In fact, some expressed anger toward Moore on social media because, in their eyes, Kress is Freddie, and Freddie should be with Sam or Carly.
Nathan Kress directed 11 episodes of Henry Danger
After his tenure on "iCarly" concluded in 2012, Nathan Kress didn't wait long before returning to Nickelodeon, this time in a different capacity. In 2015, he made his directorial debut on the superhero sitcom "Henry Danger," beginning with Season 1, Episode 16 ("Caved In"), which sees Jasper Dunlop (Sean Ryan Fox) accidentally lock Henry Hart (Jace Norman), Charlotte Page (Riele Downs) and Ray Manchester (Cooper Barnes) inside Junk-N-Stuff.
This was the first of 11 "Henry Danger" episodes directed by Kress, who also lent his directorial talents to six episodes of "Game Shakers" and five of the "iCarly" reboot. However, Kress held a special place in his heart for "Henry Danger," which gave him his start behind the camera. Kress therefore took it hard when the show came to an end in 2020.
On Instagram, Kress posted side-by-side photos of his first day on set versus his last. He and London Elise Kress are arm-in-arm in both, and the latter one features their first daughter Rosie Carolyn Kress. "5 years. A lot has changed. Not just the fact that I can't fit into those khakis any more," he wrote. "I got the chance to cut my teeth as a director on this show, oblivious to how it would change my life going forward. I'm forever grateful for the opportunity, and the grace that's required from a forgiving crew, to let me learn this new path I'm on."
He voices Wedge Antilles in Star Wars: Rebels
Even before making it big as a Nickelodeon star thanks to "iCarly," Nathan Kress had several voicework bullet points on his resume, including 1998's "Babe: Pig in the City," 2005's "Chicken Little" and 2006's "Shuriken School: The Ninja's Secret." Yet in 2016, Kress landed his proudest voice gig to date: Wedge Antilles in "Star Wars: Rebels" and the video game "Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
On X, formerly known as Twitter, he gushed about how much landing the role of this starfighter pilot — and becoming part of the "Star Wars" franchise — meant to him. "This is a day that I've been dreaming of since I was 4 years old. I'm so excited to announce that I've joined the Star Wars Universe," he said. In a separate X post, Kress wrote, "Ironically, Wedge was always one of my favorite characters to pretend to be as a kid, so this is the literal definition of a dream come true."
His first horror movie was Tell Me How I Die
Up until 2016, Nathan Kress had appeared in largely feel-good, family-friendly projects, with the slight exception of the weather-based action thriller "Into the Storm." Yet that year, Kress took another pivot in his career and gave something else a try: a slasher flick. In "Tell Me How I Die," he plays Den, a college student who partakes in a memory-drug-trial-turned-murderous rampage. Despite this being a fresh genre for Kress, he doesn't go completely anti-Freddie Benson and take on the role of a killer. Rather, Den is a kind-hearted soul who wants to protect his friends. Kress co-stars with YouTuber Ryan Higa.
Unlike his earlier film endeavor "Into the Storm," "Tell Me How I Die" received mixed reviews from fans and critics. The film didn't debut domestically or internationally, save for in Turkey, instead being released direct-to-video. With a limited audience — and mixed-to-poor responses and reviews from critics and viewers — it's no wonder this horror excursion for Kress is tucked away at the fringes of his filmography.
Nathan Kress returned to the teen space in Alexander IRL
Soon after his quick dive into the world of horror, Nathan Kress returned to his teen comedy roots in the 2017 YouTube Red original flick "Alexander IRL." He plays EJ, a wannabe Mark Zuckerberg who calls on his coding expert little brother Alex (Brent Rivera) to help him develop the next big app. In exchange, he's using his social skills to help awkward Alex throw a party and impress his crush.
Marcus Scribner, who plays Darius, one of Alex's coder friends, told Sweety High that spending time with his co-stars, including Kress, was his favorite aspect of the project. "The best part was getting to work with our amazing cast," he said. "We got Ryan Newman, Bo Mitchell, Brent Rivera, Nathan Kress, Sarah Gillman, I mean I could just keep on going. It was so much fun just working with everyone."
While many viewers enjoyed the movie largely because of Rivera, a massive social media star with 47.3 million TikTok followers, others wanted more from "Alexander IRL" than just a familiar face. Brian Costello, a Common Sense Media reviewer, said, "The actors playing the main characters do their best with what they have, but there isn't much anyone can do with trite jokes and banal observations. This is amateur filmmaking at its absolute worst." On IMDB, even Rivera fan dannywilkinson-24686 wasn't impressed: "Honestly, no one gives a convincing performance and it's very awkward to watch."
He reunites with Jennette McCurdy in the bloody short 8 Bodies
Also in 2017, Nathan Kress returned to the world of slashers, but this time in a funnier — albeit gorier — project. In the short film "8 Bodies," Kress reunites with his old "iCarly" co-star Jennette McCurdy. He portrays a police officer who meets an untimely demise when he stumbles upon McCurdy's character, TJ, and her new husband, Sam (Matt Shively), who are taking lives like modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. McCurdy teamed up with Colton Tran to co-write (in one day) and co-direct the short.
While Kress' death — which involves getting hit with a bat — can be seen as comical by viewers, the stress felt by cast and crew during the filming of the scene certainly wasn't. According to Tran in an interview with MTV News, everything, including the blood spatter, had to be perfected the first time around since there was only a single wedding dress on hand for TJ. But this was easier said than done, as Kress' character isn't looking when the fatal blow comes. "We had to give a sound cue for his reaction," said Tran. Though he was only in a small role, "8 Bodies" shows that Kress and McCurdy nevertheless continued a healthy friendship and working relationship after "iCarly."
He was in Paul Becker's directorial debut Breaking Brooklyn
The year after meeting his bloody demise at the hands of Jennette McCurdy, Nathan Kress signed on for a more heartwarming project: "Breaking Brooklyn." He plays Albee, the older brother of Aaron (Colin Critchley), both of whom must look out for each other when their dad goes to jail and they're left on the streets. Luckily, they're taken in by a former showman (Louis Gossett, Jr.), who helps Aaron hone his passion for dance.
Like Kress' previous film endeavors, "Breaking Brooklyn" received mixed reviews. On IMDB, user bandanajack called the film "nice little interlude from dreary reality, without a heavy layer of religiosity, just sappy feel good." On the other hand, a reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes didn't really like anything about the film except Kress: "It is an awkward, uneven effort. A more experienced director could have solved this. All of the actors – maybe save Kress – were miscast."
The director, Paul Becker, had been working in Hollywood for over a decade by then, mostly as a stunt performer in films like "Scream 3" and as a choreographer for "Mirror, Mirror," "This Means War," some "Twilight" films, and many more high-profile projects. "Breaking Brooklyn" is his debut feature as a writer and director.
He confesses deep secrets in Alive In Denver
On "iCarly," Freddie Benson often finds himself in uncomfortable situations, whether it's due to his overbearing mom, unreciprocated love for Carly Shay, or the bullying antics of Sam Puckett. However, all of this is nothing compared to what Nathan Kress' character, Kyle, goes through in "Alive in Denver."
Under the impression that the apocalypse is on the way, Kyle and his friends tell each other their innermost secrets in this digital scripted show by Fullscreen. They're about to die anyway, so why does it matter? However, the world doesn't come to an end after all, and now they're forced to move forth in life while dealing with the consequences of their confessions.
In an interview with NKD Mag (via Just Jared), Kress said of the eight-episode series, "It was one of the most fun things I've ever done." He continued, "When I read the script for the first time, pretty much every page had something that made me laugh out loud, and then I would read the script again five days later, and I would still laugh out loud." Unfortunately, the series appears to be difficult to find online, being online-exclusive, and many fans of Kress probably haven't been able to track it down to give it a watch.
He voices JJ on Pinky Malinky
While directing episodes of Nickelodeon's "Henry Danger," Nathan Kress was pulling double duty as the voice of JJ Jameson on the mockumentary-style animated show "Pinky Malinky," a joint endeavor with Netflix. Despite "Pinky Malinky" being a cartoon about a hot dog living in the human world, Kress' role on the show boasts some similarities to Freddie Benson. Both are part of a trio of friends, and both are geniuses when it comes to technology and social media.
Upon Nickelodeon announcing the cartoon in 2018, Kress took to X to express his excitement. He posted, "YEEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!! It's been too many years! Cannot wait for everyone to see what we've been cooking up. It's madness. But there's also, like, good life-lessons, and friendship, and stuff. It's gonna be a blast you guys."
"Pinky Malinky" was canceled after three seasons, but not before it was nominated for Outstanding Editing for an Animated Program at the 2020 Daytime Emmy Awards. Prior to its cancelation, some viewers were enjoying the show's relatability toward multiple generations. On Reddit, u/DentxHead said, "I started watching because my 4 y/o likes it but having seen all of the episodes i'm loving it. it's cute, silly and perfect for younger audiences plus it's got those adult jokes you mentioned that are definitely adult-y but still mild enough for a kids show."
He reprised his role of Freddie Benson in the short-lived iCarly reboot
In 2021, about a decade after "iCarly" went off the air, the show was rebooted and available to stream on Paramount+. Nathan Kress reprised his role of Freddie Benson, alongside Miranda Cosgrove as Carly Shay and Jerry Trainor as Spencer Shay, all of whom are navigating the highs and lows of adulthood.
Throughout three seasons, the previously unthinkable happens: Carly finally reciprocates Freddie's feelings for her, and they even begin to date. However, the fate of their relationship was tossed into limbo due to the "iCarly" reboot being canceled.
For Kress, who also wanted the story to continue and served as a director on the show, this was a tough blow. He posted a lengthy "thank you" message to fans, writers, and crew members on X, and concluded by saying, "Obviously this stings a bit.. we had a lot of story left to tell, and we were excited to give you guys the ending you deserved. No one wanted this to end on a cliffhanger. Maybe somehow, someday, we'll find out how to story ends."
He's a proud father
Nathan Kress may have mourned what could've been for Freddie Benson and Carly Shay, but in real life, he has everything that his "iCarly" character would probably envy: a loving wife and, as of June 2023, three children. On June 27, he posted a photo of his new bundle of joy, Lincoln William Kress, on Instagram with the caption, "Little Link is AWESOME, my wife is an absolute champ as always, our girls are the Big Sis dynamic duo, and Penny [his dog] is veeeeeery interested in the mesmerizing smells that emanate from this weird blob we brought home."
Kress and his wife London Elise Kress also have daughters Rosie Carolyn and Evie Elise. So far, Kress is enjoying being a father, a role that he told The Messenger helped him get through the SAG-AFTRA strike. Though he wasn't able to work or promote new projects, he was able to spend quality time with his little ones. He said of his family, "These guys are my clan. ... They're my party people. I'll go anywhere with them. It doesn't matter how many snacks they need in the car."