Lets leave it all to Miranda Cosgrove

“Oh, I would love to go to the Philippines! I’m looking forward to going there!”

That’s good news to Miranda Cosgrove’s fans who have been religiously following her in iCarly, the hit live-action show on Nickelodeon where she plays Carly Shay, a teenager who lives with her twenty-something brother/guardian Spencer (played by Jerry Trainor) and produces webcasts from a makeshift loft studio with pals Sam (Jennette McCurdy) and Freddie (Nathan Kress). Highly-rated among kiddie viewers six to 11 and teens nine to 14, and aired Monday through Friday (at 12:30 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.), iCarly is television’s only scripted series ever to let kids contribute by incorporating videos they created to showcase their unusual talents.

Miranda, 15, has also appeared in movies — as the over-achieving preppy manager Summer Hathaway of Jack Black’s rock band in School of Rock, and in Yours, Mine and Ours and Keeping Up With the Steins.

The good news is that Sony BMG Music Entertainment has just released iCarly - Music from and Inspired by the Hit TV Show, an album of music and cast dialogue with Miranda singing the show’s theme song Leave It All To Me (featuring Drake Bell, which made it to the Billboard Hot 100). Other artists showcased on the album include Avril Lavigne (on Girlfriend), Boys Like Girls (Thunder), Natasha Bedingfield (Freckles), Good Charlotte (Dance Floor Anthem), Sean Kingston (Beautiful Girls) and The Naked Brothers Band (Face In The Hall), stars of the Nick hit live-action series of the same title.

Funfare did an exclusive 20-minute interview by telephone with Miranda last week (she was calling from New York) and the first thing I asked her was whether or not she’s coming to the Philippines to promote the album.

“Yeah, why not?” she exclaimed. “I’d love to!”

Excerpts:

Are you in any way similar to Carly Shay?

“Well, for one thing Carly really likes the Internet and I do like the Internet, too. We are alike in that way.”

iCarly incorporates videos created by kiddie televiewers who contribute to your show. How nice of you to help your fellow teeners showcase their unusual talents.

“Yeah, I think it’s really cool that they contribute trivia to the show. There are so many young people who are very talented and I’m happy to provide them outlet for their talents and the unusual things that they can do.”

Does doing the show feel more like playing than working?

“Yeah, it really does. Most of the time I feel like the other cast members and I are just kidding around; it doesn’t feel like we are working at all. We’re having a lot of fun, like being in some kind of a game.”

You started in the business at the age of nine. Don’t you feel like you’ve been robbed of your childhood?

“Oh, I really love acting and it’s pretty much like my favorite thing to do. And since I don’t really consider it like work, I don’t like to think like I’ve been robbed of my childhood. I still do pretty much what my friends who are not in showbiz usually do. I go to a real school and I go with my actual friends in real life to places our age go to.”

You’re in high school. Do you get special treatment in school?

“I’m in my first year high school. No, I don’t get any special treatment in school, although my classmates and schoolmates do come up to me to have their pictures taken with me. Stuff like that. I try to initiate making friends because normally people wouldn’t just walk up to you and wanna talk to you.”

Is it hard combining school and showbiz?

“It’s kind of hard. Anyway, it’s not too bad because for the show, we rehearse like three days and then we film, too. So on rehearsal days, I can go to school for four-and-a-half hours, and then resume rehearsals. I have a private tutor who teaches me everything, so I can ask him anything anytime I need to. But it becomes kind of crazy on shoot days because, well, the schedule is really crazy and I’m kind of running around all the time.”

What’s your favorite subject in school?

‘I really like English; I love like Creative Writing.”

You really wanted to be an actress and not anything else, right?

“Well, when I was little I was in a restaurant. And then, I wanted to do commercials and modeling, even if I didn’t really know what I was doing. When I was like eight years old, I got into Drake & Josh, another show on Nickelodeon,  and I felt like kind of weird because I never even thought about it. And then came iCarly.”

How has stardom changed your life?

“Oh, it certainly changed my life a lot. Like I travel a lot more; I’m always working on the set. But I think I still do the usual things that I would do even if I was not an actress. I go to the mall, I watch movies and stuff like that. I play video games. Yeah, I do a lot of the same things that I would be doing even if I were not in showbiz.”

What are your likes and dislikes? Do you go for the usual things people your age go for? What do you splurge on?

“All the friends love to shop and so do I. That’s one of my favorite things to do — shop.”

Just like any girl your age, you have your crushes, right? Who are your crushes? What qualities do you like in a guy?

“I want guys who are fun to be around; I like funny guys.”

You seem to be outgoing. You’re not moody, are you?

“I have my moods. But moody? No, I’m not.”

Could you describe your life with your family, with your friends? What do you do away from work?

“Hmmmm. I hang out with my friends and family all the time, kind of. I’m with my mom most of the time because she comes with me anywhere I go, around the country or out of the country. I think I probably know my mom more than my dad.”

How many brothers and sisters do you have?

“I’m actually an only child.”

Oh, you must be pampered, but I hope not spoiled, by your parents.

“You know, if you’re an only child you don’t share. That’s kind of true. But I do have a dog and I always joke that he’s my brother. He’s a poodle and he’s kind of cute. I’ve had him since I was six years old and he follows me around like I’m his sister.”

You have your own role models, right?

“Yeah. I like Anne Hathaway. She’s cool! And Johnny Depp. But I would say that my role models are my parents.”

How would you describe your mom?

“I think I’m with my mom like every second. But I’m also with my dad a lot, too. I don’t know, but I think I know them equally. My mom is funny; she’s a joy to be around. I think my dad is just as funny.”

You are a role model yourself. Are you aware of your responsibility that goes with it?

“I guess that everything I have to do or say something I have to think twice because I wouldn’t want people to see me doing something weird. But most of the time, I don’t really think about it too much and I just be myself. I don’t do things crazy, anyway.”

What’s the real Miranda Cosgrove like?

“Well, I guess I’m kind of dorky.” (Laughs and laughs) “I’m always doing dorky things. As I said, I just hang out with my friends a lot. I love like being outdoors. Sometimes, I go to my friends’ house. We have a dance on my show and my friends come to the set to watch. I like that a lot.”

If you were not Miranda Cosgrove, who would you rather be?

“Hmmmmm. Let’s see...It’s hard! I don’t know. Maybe I would be Gwen Stefani. I think she’s so cool. I like her style.”

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