Kidsday interviews Miranda Cosgrove

We met singer and actress Miranda Cosgrove when she made an appearance at the Sunrise Mall in Massapequa recently.

What is it like being an actor-singer? Is there a downside to it?

The worst part is just getting up early in the morning. Best part — with acting, it’s fun getting to play a character that isn’t like you, and just getting to make “iCarly,” because I get to do so many crazy things on the show. So every week I get to read the script and find out what insane adventure I’m going to be going on. And with music, I love music, just going on tour and meet the fans. Like, with “iCarly,” we don’t have an audience. So we actually meet the people and see everyone in person and find out what episode they like.

How do you get your ideas for your songs?

Sometimes it’s things that happen to me, like maybe a relationship I was in, something that just happened while I was out with a friend, then some of the songs, like, on] my last album were written about people I know, like Ke$ha, Avril Lavigne. Those songs I try to make sure it’s a song I could relate to.

What’s your favorite song on your new album?

I like “High Maintenance.” I did a song with Rivers Cuomo, he’s from Weezer, and I love that band forever. It’s just so crazy to get to work with him.

Of all the characters you have played throughout your career, which one do you feel like most resembles you in real life?

I’m like Carly probably the most. There are a lot of things that aren’t like me about Carly, but there are also some things that are like me. I don’t know, probably the most different and the most same at the same time.

What inspired you to launch an acting and singing career?

Acting, I kind of fell into it because I’m from L.A. This agent came up to and just asked if I wanted to go on some auditions. I tried it and I like it. I don’t think my parents or anybody thought I was going to do it for a long time. I ended up really loving it. I just kind of fell into it in a way.

How did you get the title for your new album?

Rivers wrote the song “High Maintenance,” and when I first heard it, it’s fun because it’s kind of like acting and singing at the same time. I don’t think I’m that high maintenance in real life, but it was fun to get to sing a song that’s so kind of tongue-in-cheek. I got to be kind of bratty in the song.

How do you feel about over obsessive fans? And why do you feel that way?

I think any fan that’s awesome, like if somebody likes your music, likes the show or anything. I get excited when people come up and talk about episodes they like. I still get excited about it. I don’t mind if they’re crazy.

Is it hard to live a life where you’re expected to be a role model to kids who look up to you?

I just try to make the right decisions. I definitely think about the people that watch my show and that’s definitely always in the back of my mind. Even when I’m making a decision about my acting career, or a song I sing, I try to think about the people who have always watched my show and really support me.

Do you have a fan that stuck out to you like you couldn’t forget them? If you do, why did they stick out?

My first kiss was with a fan. So that stuck out. When I was like 11 or 12 I was at a concert and a little boy came up to me and kissed me on the lips. He was like 9 or 8.

What is your favorite episode on “iCarly” and why?

I like the one where Freddie saves Carly’s life. That was a fun one to do. And then there’s an episode where Carly’s standing on scaffolding and I’m writing iCarly on the side of a building. And that was cool because we got to wear harnesses; we got to fly around like Peter Pan or something. We tried to stay in the harnesses all the time we wanted to. And we were begging them to let us go all over the place. Also it was fun because we’d be holding our side of the thing and as soon as we cut, we just like flew all over. It was cool.

Are you working on anything new like movies, TV?

We’re getting ready to start the next season of “iCarly” in just a few weeks, actually. I have the album that just came out, so for the next couple of weeks, I’ll be kind of on tour, just going around, signing the album. This is only my second one.

What is your favorite song to sing and why?

My favorite song, that’s hard. I like “Dancing Crazy” because it’s just fun and it’s like a party song. I love, when I’m with my friends, I love to listen to songs that are just fun to play. Like songs you can put on the radio, put the top down and just have a good time. And I kind of think that’s one of those songs.

What was it like playing the voice of Margo in the movie “Despicable Me,” and is it hard to play a voice in an animated film?

It is a little hard because you have to put personality into it so that it comes across later when you’re watching. It’s also really fun because you can do it in your pajamas and you don’t have to worry about anything. And later, when you get to see your voice coming out of the character, it’s just — it’s really cool seeing this other person with your voice coming out.

What are your goals for the future after “iCarly”?

I really want to go to college. I just applied to college. I’m in 12th grade.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to be an actress or a singer? How would they get started?

What helped me the most was having my mom and dad really behind me — just having somebody behind you, even if it’s a friend or something. I just think having someone to talk to about it and to, like, help you if you have a bad moment or you’re going to give it up. That just helps. My mom travels with me everywhere and she’s always there. That’s probably the best advice.

If you could meet anybody, like any actor, who would it be and why?

I really like Natalie Portman and I love Cyndi Lauper. Probably one of them. I would like to spend an afternoon with one or maybe both. It might be fun having lunch with Natalie Portman.

What’s your most embarrassing moment?

I’ve had a lot of embarrassing moments. So many things are passing through my mind. I once looked up a guy on Google and then he was going through my photos with him and he was going through my phone, like going to look something up, and then I had forgotten I Googled him and we went to my Google thing on my phone and his name was there. That’s embarrassing. I think that’s the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me.

How do they come up with ideas for new episodes of “iCarly,” and do they ever borrow ideas from life experiences?

Sometimes. We have an episode coming up where my character Carly, and then we have the whole “Victorious” cast — Victoria is going to be in an episode with me, and we actually find out that we’re both dating the same guy. That just happened to me in real life before. Not with Victoria. It happened in real life with a guy and someone I didn’t know. It kind of hit too close to home with that episode. It was fun though. I got to wear a mask in that episode and look like a completely different person. They put prosthetics on my face, so at lunch I got to go to restaurants and stuff and hang out with people that I’ve known for a really long time and they didn’t know it was me. It was pretty cool. I got to play a bunch of pranks on some people.