ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you get started in the business?
MIRANDA COSGROVE: It's like all those mall stories you hear. I was just at a restaurant, and I was, like, three years old. An agent asked [my parents] if I wanted to join her modeling and commercial agency. Of course, my mom went home and thought about it for a while, because she had never really thought about me getting into entertainment. So I started doing that kind of stuff. Then I started auditioning. It wasn't until I was, like, 8, that I did much theatrical stuff.
What was your first memory of acting?
I did a Mello Yello commercial when I was four. And I was actually on a beach or something, so that's one of the first things I can remember doing. And after that, I remember auditioning for Drake & Josh because it was, like, the first thing I auditioned for that I really knew about, because it was a kids' thing. That kind of got me more excited about it.
How do you fit in school with your hectic shooting schedule?
I did regular schooling up to 5th grade and then started home schooling. I have a tutor on set and I do school four hours on rehearsal days. We rehearse three days and shoot two. And the two days that we shoot, we only have to do an hour of school, so we have more time to film and stuff, and we get an hour lunch break. We have all sorts of breaks during the day. I just call my friends and stuff.
Do the writers and producers ask for your input as a teenager?
Sometimes writers will come up and ask questions about certain words to make sure that kids, you know, still say that. We always crack about it because they'll say ''wonderful'' in sentences that maybe kids these days wouldn't say.
Every week there will be a show within a show, but what will we see you do? Boy issues? School issues? Sports?
The Web show can be bigger or smaller depending on the episode. Sometimes, it may only be not that big of a deal, and then other times, it makes up the entire show. It's been nice — they've been balancing it very well. In some episodes, it's mainly about my life and the people around me. There are definitely boy troubles, and she gets in fights with friends — pretty much all the stuff that normal teenagers deal with.
Do you feel like it's a pretty realistic portrayal of what real teens deal with?
Yah, a lot of the skits have happened to me — so it's even easier to act it out if you've been through it.
If you had to pick someone to model your career after, who'd it be?
Well, I love Rachel McAdams — I think she's like the coolest person ever. All my friends love her too. I love The Notebook and Mean Girls. And Reese Witherspoon is really great.
