Top 20 Stars You Forgot Were on iCarly

It’s fitting that Jordan Fischer appeared in an episode called “iSpeed Date,” as his screen time flies by in the blink of an eye. In order to get through a long line of gentlemen callers who wish to take Carly to the dance, the gang has a speed-dating event. Among the possible suitors is Fischer’s Clark. Each guy is given fifteen seconds to make an impression. After less than ten seconds with Clark, however, Spencer decides that he’s not the kind of guy he wants dating his little sister. Although his appearance here is brief, Fisher would soon land more prominent roles in franchises like “Teen Beach Movie” and “To All the Boys.” He’s also shined in Broadway productions like “Hamilton” and “Dear Evan Hansen.”

Fisher wasn’t the only rising star who took part in iCarly’s speed dating session. In the same episode, Freddie interviews a hunk named Eric, on Carly’s behalf. Given his crush on Carly, Freddie doesn’t want any of the possible candidates to outshine him. Upon learning that Eric is a former model and the lead singer in a band, Freddie gives him a hard pass. If Eric looks familiar, that’s because he’s played by Chord Overstreet in his television debut. Overstreet would rise to fame a year later as Sam Evans on “Glee.” It’s interesting how Eric foreshadowed Sam’s character arc. Not only would Sam form a one-man band saluting Justin Bieber, but he also pursued a career in male modeling.

Speaking of really cool bands, a few singing groups have crossed paths with the “iCarly” gang. Plain White T’s was among the first, appearing in Season One. When lead singer Tom Higgenson is almost crushed by a giant menu board at a mall, Spencer comes to his rescue. Higgenson returns the favor by autographing Spencer’s back and getting the Plain White T’s to perform on “iCarly.” Although Nevel nearly spoils everything, Carly ends his reign of terror through her military connections. With Nevel out of the way, the band performs their single “Our Time New” without a hitch. Higgenson also gives Spencer’s socks a ringing endorsement. Between this guest spot and their song “Hey There Delilah” going platinum, 2007 was an eventful year for them.

You never know what you’re going to find in a pawn shop, be it a potato chip shaped like Texas, the First Lady’s DNA, or Gibby’s head. You might even come across somebody famous. On a road trip to bail Sam’s mom out of jail, the gang drops by the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop to come up with the funds. While there, they encounter Rick Harrison, Corey “Big Hoss” Harrison, and Austin “Chumlee” Russell. These three are known for the reality series “Pawn Stars,” which had already been on the air for a few years. It’s the Pawn Stars who are star-struck by the “iCarly” crew, however. Also, are we the only ones who want a spinoff starring Gibby and Chumlee?

Nothing can come between Carly and Sam… most of the time. In this case, it’s a boy named Shane who turns the friends into competitors. Carly and Sam try to see who can get a kiss from their mutual crush first. Deciding he doesn’t want to be part of their little contest, Shane leaves in frustration. He’s so angry that Shane forgets to look where he’s walking. It’s unclear how long it took Shane to wake up from his accident. When he did come to, though, we like to think he changed his name to James and started a boy band. In all seriousness, this marked James Maslow’s acting debut, paving the way for “Big Time Rush” and the band of the same name.

People seem to either love or hate Lucas Cruikshank, better known as Fred Figglehorn. That division is explored in Season 2 of “iCarly.” Well, kind of. In this episode, Freddie is the only one who doesn’t understand Fred’s appeal. While Freddie probably wouldn’t be alone in real life, everyone in the show’s universe praises Fred’s unique brand of humor. Nevertheless, Freddie’s negative reception causes Fred to quit. Of course, this turns out to be a publicity stunt to raise Fred’s viewers, as well as iCarly’s. The stunt apparently worked, as Fred went on to star in three movies and a short-lived TV series. So, a Nickelodeon show about a web series helped an actual internet star get his own Nickelodeon show.

Randall Park’s star has significantly risen as of late with sitcoms like “Fresh Off the Boat,” movies like “Always Be My Maybe,” and his role as agent Jimmy Woo in the MCU. Before he broke out, Park made several memorable guest appearances on various shows, including “iCarly.” Park played Mr. Paladino, one of the teachers at Ridgeway Junior High School. In order to join his friends in detention for a special episode, Freddie steals Paladino’s stapler. Well, “steal” might be too strong a word, as Freddie doesn’t even take it out of the classroom. He essentially returns it to Paladino, who doesn’t even think about punishing Freddie. If Freddie wanted detention, he should’ve put the stapler in jello. It’s what Jim Halpert would’ve done.

We’ll talk more about this episode’s biggest guest star in a little bit. For now, though, tell us if you recognize one of her Secret Service agents. That’s right! Agent Kinsey is none other than Taran Killam, who’s no stranger to Nickelodeon. Killam is perhaps best remembered for playing Spalding in “The Amanda Show” segment “Moody’s Point.” He also popped up in the second episode of “Drake & Josh” as Trevor, who hooks the boys up with a dune buggy. Like another Nickelodeon star we’ll discuss later down the line, Killam eventually became a cast member on “Saturday Night Live.” Ironically, Killam went from playing the First Lady’s bodyguard to impersonating the future president of the United States.

Before he played James Garrett on “Zoey 101,” but after he was a background character on “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide,” Austin Butler appeared as Carly’s crush Jake. Carly is so infatuated with Jake that she allows him to sing on the show. She quickly comes to regret this, as it turns out Jake doesn’t have a musical bone in his body. The irony is that Butler has enjoyed some success as a singer. He’s even set to play Elvis Presley in a biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann. That’s not the only real-life person in Butler’s filmography, as he also played Tex Watson in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Of course, a few creative liberties are taken with Tex’s fate.

In the Season 2 finale, Carly is persuaded to participate in a cage fight for charity. Her opponent is Shelby Marx, played by Victoria Justice, who makes the fight personal when she’s led to believe that Carly intentionally pushed her grandma. At this point in her career, Justice had already appeared as Lola Martinez on “Zoey 101”, and in the Nickelodeon TV movie “Spectacular!” Less than a year after her appearance on “ICarly”, Justice took center stage as Tori Vega on the Nick sitcom “Victorious.” Another year down the line, the “iCarly” crew would have a crossover with the kids from Hollywood Arts High School. While it’s noted that Tori and Shelby share a resemblance, the episode brushes over the fact that they’re essentially doppelgangers.

Carly Shay may be Miranda Cosgrove’s most iconic TV role, but her Nickelodeon days started as Megan Parker on “Drake & Josh.” As Drake’s biological sister, and Josh’s stepsister, Megan frequently stole the show. When Cosgrove made the leap to leading lady, it was only a matter of time until one of her bros made a cameo. In a special blooper episode, Drake wanders into the Shay apartment, mistaking Carly for Megan. Drake inquires about Josh’s whereabouts, as well as who all these other strange characters are. While Bell isn’t on screen for long, he also did sing backup for the “iCarly” theme song. So, in a way, we guess you could argue that he contributed to every episode.

“iCarly’s” crossover with “Victorious” also marked a homecoming for Kenan Thompson. Before he was the longest-running “SNL” cast member, Kenan got his start on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series, “All That.” Kenan and his co-star, Kel Mitchell, went on to appear in their own sitcom, as well as the theatrical comedy “Good Burger.” “iParty with Victorious”, was the first Nickelodeon project to prominently feature Kenan in several years, with Kenan’s mansion providing the home base for a massive party. While the party is actually fairly small by Kenan’s standards, he’s perturbed to encounter a stalker in a Panda costume. Kenan decides to help out with the revenge plot against Steven Carson and even gets a solo during the performance of “Leave It All to Shine.”

Considering that Victoria Justice and Kenan Thompson already had ties to Nickelodeon, we imagine it wasn’t that hard to book them. But how did the show land the then-First Lady of the United States? Apparently, this special episode was specifically written with Michelle Obama and her Joining Forces initiative in mind. Joining Forces was started by Obama and Dr. Jill Biden in an effort to help service members. In the episode, the First Lady is drawn to “iCarly” since Carly and Spencer’s father is a U.S. Air Force Colonel. In addition to raising awareness for Americans in the military and their families, “her excellency” cuts loose with a little random dancing.

Gibby Gibson isn’t exactly someone we’d peg as a ladies' man, but he took everyone by surprise in Season 3 with the introduction of his attractive girlfriend, Tasha. If this brunette bombshell looks familiar, that’s because she’s Emily Ratajkowski, who’d go on to appear in multiple Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues, as well as music videos for Maroon 5 and Robin Thicke. Outside of modeling, Ratajkowski has also appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for Carl’s Jr. and played Ben Affleck’s mistress in “Gone Girl.” Although Tasha is clearly out of Gibby’s league, she practically worships the ground he walks on. Since Tasha only pops up in a couple episodes, their relationship is kept fairly vague, which makes it all the more hilarious.

Before taking over “The Tonight Show,” Jimmy Fallon played himself in an extended “iCarly” episode. The special also featured a Tina Fey cameo, providing a mini “Weekend Update” reunion. As a fan of their web series, Jimmy invites the “iCarly” stars to appear on his late-night show. The segment starts off great with Sam playing her mustached character and Jimmy plugging a Screaming Mel Gibson doll. Things take a turn for the worse, however, when Gibby suffers a wardrobe malfunction. The NCC, a parody of the FCC, thus orders “iCarly” to pay a $500,000 fine, even though their show obviously doesn’t have the biggest budget. Fortunately, Jimmy has their backs, helping them raise more than enough cash. What’s next, Jimmy meets “Good Burger?”

For much of the series, Sam’s family is something of an enigma, although it’s made clear that she doesn’t have very nurturing parents. We’re given a better glimpse into Sam’s dysfunctional home life in Season 4 with the introduction of her mother, Pam Puckett. Who better to play Mrs. Puckett than Sue Sylvester herself, Jane Lynch? If you ever wondered where Sam developed her smart aleck, hostile, borderline criminal tendencies, look no further. Sam and Pam’s name-calling eventually escalates into wrestling, but the mother and daughter ultimately come together thanks to some aggressive therapy. While Pam was only mentioned off-screen up until this episode, we’d developed a strong idea of what she’d be like, and Lynch totally lived up to our expectations.

This boy band was everywhere in the early 2010s, including “iCarly.” One Direction drops by the set to perform their debut single, “What Makes You Beautiful.” The song is just one of the episode’s highlights, as Sam warms up to Zayn Malik while Gibby tries to give other band members foot massages. The group finds itself down a member when Harry Styles drinks from Carly’s water bottle and gets Jungle Worms. Styles milks his illness so that Carly will continue to wait on him hand and foot. You’d think that Harry would have personal assistants at his beck and call, but having Carly look after him is admittedly funnier. Fortunately, Styles suddenly feels better once he fears Gibby may be replacing him.

Before she was Carly Shay or even Megan Parker, actress Miranda Cosgrove made her film debut as Summer Hathaway in the Jack Black comedy, “School of Rock.” And Black has also frequently collaborated with Nickelodeon, hosting the Kids’ Choice Awards on three occasions, so it was only a matter of time until he guest starred on “iCarly.” Nevertheless, it was still quite the treat when Black stormed onto the scene as an overly dedicated cosplayer. With Black playing Aspartamay and Spencer dressed as Aruthor, the two turn Webicon into a literal battleground. Fully committing to their “World of Warlords” roles, the two compete to see which of them is the true warrior. In the end though, it’s Carly who reigns supreme.

By 2012, Emma Stone was on the cusp of superstardom, having appeared in “Easy A,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” and “The Help.” Yet, the young actress still found the time to drop by the set of “iCarly.” Stone’s character, Heather, is starstruck when she encounters the “iCarly” crew at an eatery. Actually, “starstruck” may be putting it lightly, as Heather goes into total superfan mode. Screaming in excitement, leaping onto their table, and forcing the gang to take selfies, Heather makes Spencer look like a mature adult by comparison. She even breaks into the men’s room to touch Gibby and eat his meatballs . . . it’s not what it sounds like. Only a couple years after making this uproarious cameo, Stone received her first Oscar nomination for “Birdman.”

A month before winning his second Primetime Emmy for portraying Dr. Sheldon Cooper on “The Big Bang Theory,” Jim Parsons played an even quirkier character in the Season 5 premiere of “iCarly.” In a role that seems tailor-made for Parsons, he plays an institutionalized patient named Caleb. Convinced that he’s from the year 2077, Caleb claims that California is going to sink into the ocean, while Carly is destined to become Vice President of the United States. Hey, crazier things have happened in politics! He also says that Ryan Seacrest will be taken by aliens, although we think Caleb might be the real alien. Either that or those neutronium cotton pants have gone to his head.