Drake Bell | Image:drakebell/Instagram
The first episode of Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV premiered in mid-March. It opened a Pandora’s box of the obnoxious abuse of power that has been perpetuated against child actors. Drake Bell was among those featured in the show, who opened up about the sexual abuse he sustained at the hands of his former dialogue coach, Brian Peck, now a registered sex offender.
Drake Bell reveals why he finally chose to speak up
During his recent appearance on The Sarah Fraser Show podcast, Drake Bell, now 37, revealed why he had always been hesitant about sharing his story with the world. The actor recalled being borderline accused for choosing to not share his story as one of the reasons for such systems of abuse to continue thriving.
He said, “Another documentary that came out years ago that requested my involvement, and when I declined, the response I got was unbelievable. They said that I was, people like me were the problem, and this is why things aren’t gonna change in the industry because people like you won’t speak out and won’t come forward.”
Drake Bell says Emma Schwartz’s sensitivity convinced him to come on board
Emma Schwartz serves as one of the directors for Quiet on Set. Drake Bell greatly credited her for coming from a genuine place of wanting to understand his plight as opposed to simply trying to get him on camera. He shared, “She was very sensitive, and we kind of became buddies before (the docuseries), and I could tell that she was coming from a genuine place. When we started our back and forth and it wasn’t (from) an angle of, ‘Okay, what do I have to say to get him involved’ and ‘I’ll just say what I need to say to convince him.’ I really felt a comfort with her.”
Not just this, the former child actor also opened up about involving his father in the documentary – something he felt would help the latter take the blame off himself. He said, “I’m sure that my dad puts a lot of blame on himself. And I thought that this might be an opportunity for him to be able to realize that, you know, that it’s one person’s fault.” Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV can be streamed on Apple TV.
