Miranda Cosgrove: Teen Player

With her new Nickelodeon show iCarly drawing around 3.5 million viewers each week, cherub-faced 14-year-old Miranda Cosgrove just may become the next Hannah Montana. Granted, she doesn't sing like Miley Cyrus, but iCarly a slapstick-y tween sitcom that sees her and friend Sam (Jennette McCurdy) create a Web TV show every week — is making waves with tech-savvy youngsters. EW checked in with the L.A.-bred Cosgrove (you may remember her as cutie Summer from The School of Rock) and chatted about how she got started in the business, balancing school and career, and her favorite actresses.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What appealed to you about doing this show?
MIRANDA COSGROVE: I think the best part about the show is that it's interactive. It's really the first show for teens that has a great reality element to it, but it's still scripted. I think the cool part for me is seeing all the kids' videos. Thousands have already been sent into the website! And the show just came out.

So, just like you and Jennette do on the show, kids create their own videos and send them in. Do you do anything with them? Will some of them make it into the actual show?
At the end of every show, there's a video that plays as the credits roll. And on the website, there are going to be tons of videos.

You used to be on Drake & Josh. Is that over now?
Well, I'm not shooting it anymore, but there's one more episode playing. I was in every episode, and worked with [Drake & Josh creator] Dan Schneider before he created iCarly. I think that helped a lot because I know him so well. It's nice to work with somebody you're really comfortable with.

This is your first starring show — are you ready for the attention that may come with it?
I'm excited that the show has done so well and that kids are getting into it. It helped that I did Drake & Josh, because I got to watch them do it. So I know exactly what I'm getting into. I'm friends with all my friends from elementary school — they think it's cool that I'm in acting, but they don't think it's that big of a deal.

Do you identify with your character Carly?
We're kind of different — and alike — because I hang out with my family and friends all the time, and I also make little videos with my friends all the time. She's kind of into that. But she always knows what to do in a situation, and I'm not like that.

You make your own videos? Do you ever put them online like Carly does?
I've never actually posted them online before. We kind of just sing along to songs and do dorky stuff and then we'll watch it. Maybe I will now.

NEXT: How Miranda balances work and school; plus, her favorite actresses