Gerald William Trainor born January 21, 1977 is an American actor, comedian and musician. He is known for his roles in the Nickelodeon shows Drake & Josh (as “Crazy” Steve), iCarly (as Spencer Shay), and T.U.F.F. Puppy (as Dudley Puppy). Since 2004, Trainor has worked primarily on the Nickelodeon network. Outside of this, he has had recurring and guest roles on young adult-oriented shows on the Disney Channel and Netflix as well as in more mature shows like Crossing Jordan and 2 Broke Girls.
Early life and education
Trainor was born and raised in San Diego, California, the son of Bill Trainor, a retired Navy fighter pilot and public defender, and Madelyn (née McNenly) Trainor, a retired high school calculus teacher. He is of Irish descent.
Trainor grew up in the San Diego community of Scripps Ranch and attended the University of San Diego High School. He studied drama at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He studied improvisation at the The Groundlings school in Los Angeles. Before becoming an actor, he worked at SeaWorld San Diego.
Career
Acting
His first television role was in the MTV series Undressed as Eric. Some of his other television credits include Law & Order True Crime, Angel, and Malcolm in the Middle. His first recurring TV role was as Brian “the A.V. guy” on Crossing Jordan. He has had a number of small roles in films such as the science fiction drama Donnie Darko and the cheerleader comedy Bring It On Again. He appeared on the web series Hungry Girl.
He is known for his work on Nickelodeon television shows. He had a recurring role on Drake & Josh as “Crazy” Steve, a movie theater worker, from 2004 to 2007. He starred in iCarly as Spencer Shay, the older brother and guardian of Miranda Cosgrove’s title character from 2007 to 2012 (he and Cosgrove had previously acted together on Drake & Josh, as Cosgrove played the role of the title duo’s little sister). He completed the 2008 music-themed comedy Wreckless Epic, in which he stars. Trainor starred in the animated series T.U.F.F. Puppy as the voice of Dudley Puppy. He also starred alongside iCarly co-star Jennette McCurdy in the Nickelodeon TV movie Best Player. He played Quincy Johnson, a video game enthusiast whose main competition in a video gaming contest is McCurdy’s character. In 2013, Trainor starred in the short-lived series Wendell & Vinnie as Vinnie, the uncle and guardian to Buddy Handleson’s character Wendell.
Trainor was involved in a World of Warcraft video series titled Project Lore, playing the Draenei Shaman, Goggins. He was replaced by Jeff Cannata after leaving the series in February 2009. In 2015, he played Commander Michael Sullivan for both seasons of the Halo in-universe podcast, Hunt the Truth.
In 2017, Trainor voiced the recurring role of Commander Cone on Bunsen Is a Beast. Since 2018, Trainor and Mike O’Gorman have starred in a comedy web series called The Porch, which can be found on YouTube.
In 2018, Trainor starred in the film Cover Versions written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Todd Berger. The film premiered at the 2018 Palm Springs Film Festival and was acquired for distribution by Sony Pictures. Parts of the film were shot on location during the Kaaboo Del Mar music festival in San Diego, California. Trainor’s performance was heralded as being edgy and thought-provoking.
iCarly has been rebooted and set to premiere on Paramount+ with Trainor reprising his role as Spencer Shay.
Music
In October 2015, Trainor formed the band Nice Enough People with guitarist/vocalist Mike O’Gorman, drummer Andrew Zuber, and guitarist Allison Scagliotti, who also happened to be a co-star of Trainor’s in Drake & Josh as the character Mindy Crenshaw. Trainor plays bass for the group. The group released their first EP, Hanover Hideaway, on June 22, 2016.