Amanda Bynes has lived her life away from the spotlight in recent years, struggling publicly with her mental health and being in a conservatorship from 2013 to 2022.
The 38-year-old former child star has not acted in a project since 2010's Easy A and while she briefly made a return to the spotlight in 2023 as co-host of Amanda Bynes & Paul Sieminski: The Podcast, she left after one episode to reportedly get her manicurist license.
However, the 2024 docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV brought her story back to light following the allegations that came to light about Nickelodeon's Dan Schneider, who worked closely with her on All That and The Amanda Show.
© InstagramOne of the other biggest stories to break from the docuseries was of Drake Bell, who made his own return to the spotlight after a turbulent break from TV.
The actor and musician, also 38, spoke extensively also of his memories working on Drake & Josh with Josh Peck, and the two reunited for a two-parter episode of Josh's podcast Good Guys to break down their friendship, separation and reconciliation since their tenure on Nickelodeon ended.
Co-host Ben Soffer noted, however, when discussing the documentary on the podcast that Amanda's absence left a notable hole in Quiet on Set and asked the pair about their own interactions with her in recent years.
© FOXDrake mentioned that he last spoke with her a few years ago. "I randomly talked to her, like, it was 2017, maybe? It's around that time," he recalled. "I randomly messaged her."
"She was in the news or something, and I was just thinking about her. And I was like, 'Oh, I'm just gonna message her. She'll never see it. She'll never respond.'"
© Getty ImagesTo his surprise, "she responded," and they exchanged messages for a little while before things petered out. Drake and Josh worked closely with Amanda on the sketch and variety show The Amanda Show during its run from 1999 to 2002.
"Other than being on the show, and, you know, she was an idol to me. I mean, I grew up on All That. One of the most talented people on the label," the pair continued, with Drake adding: "When I got to audition for The Amanda Show, she may as well have been Rachel on Friends. She was the biggest thing on the planet to me."
Josh, also 38, explained that he had had more frequent interactions with her, and expressed just how much he saw her leading with positivity and responding to her very public struggles by trying to remain upbeat.
"I see her, like, every two to three years, we'll run into each other, and she's just the greatest," he continued. "She was great then, she remains great, and such a good person."
© Getty Images"Obviously has had some public struggles, but I just think she's got one of the great hearts and great skills, great talents of anyone there is," he said, with Drake also adding: "That's all I've ever experienced with Amanda was just like this dynamite force of nature when it comes to talent."
© Instagram"Watching her was like watching Carol Burnett, Tracey Ullman."
