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Jack Griffo admits that the “pressures” he felt as a teen star still affects him today.
“I wouldn’t say I was getting depressed, but it does weigh on me still,” the actor, who starred as Max Thunderman in Nickelodeon’s “The Thundermans” from 2013 to 2018, told Page Six in a new interview.
“The pressures of being liked by people, doing my best … it kind of gets you down sometimes.”
Griffo, 25, added that he’s “just now” beginning to be himself “as a person for the first time.”
“If you’re in the vacuum of the spotlight at such a young age, your frontal cortex isn’t developed yet,” he said. “You’re still a baby.”
The actor also told Page Six that when he first began earning his own money, he didn’t treat it very seriously.
“I didn’t struggle for anything when I was little, my parents were pretty well off, so when I got my own money I was like, ‘Oh, this is for spending!’” he said with a laugh.
“I stayed in Hollywood in really nice places,” he continued. “I was staying at the W and getting room service. I knew it was probably stupid but it gave me memories for a lifetime and I’ll never forget it.”
Like Griffo, pop superstar Ariana Grande also became famous through her work with Nickelodeon. She starred as Cat Valentine on “Victorious” and reprised the role for the network’s “Sam & Cat” spinoff before she got her big break as a music artist.
Griffo told us he did not interact with Grande, 28, during those early days of fame, but admitted he was surprised to witness her massive success.
“I don’t think anyone had any idea. She outgrew Nickelodeon,” he said. “I remember ‘Sam & Cat’ was just ending. It didn’t end on great terms, I think because of the girls, and I think Ariana’s popularity.”
He added, “I don’t think anyone expected [her success] because her character was a tad annoying. But she’s a talent that no one can deny.”
Griffo has also turned to music in recent years, writing songs as the lead singer of his new band, The Pretty Grit.
He told Page Six that his parents’ decision to split right before the coronavirus pandemic inspired him to put pen to paper.
“My parents are my best friends in the world and it was just like the hardest time in my life,” he shared. “I always loved music, did covers on YouTube, so I had been writing songs [before]. But when this happened with my parents I started writing songs about real s–t that I really cared about, and I found this whole new medium of art.”
On top of all the recent excitement surrounding his band, Griffo has also found a whole new generation of fans since “The Thundermans” began streaming on Netflix.
“It’s been really cool to have a resurgence,” he said. “We worked really hard on it and it makes sense, the timing makes sense. Maybe we’ll even get to be those characters again, we’ll see.”
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