12 Disney Stars Who Actually Appeared On Nickelodeon First

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12 Disney Stars Who Actually Appeared Nickelodeon First

Just because a celeb grew up as a Disney star doesn't mean he or she never appeared on rival networks before becoming a household name.

Before cementing their fame on a Disney show or DCOM, these 11 celebs had guest-starring or recurring roles on a plethora of classic Nickelodeon shows. See if you recognize any familiar faces.





  1. Ashley Tisdale Nickelodeon

    Before starring on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and in the High School Musical films, Tisdale guest-starred on The Amanda Show . She played Daphne, Amanda Bynes 's No. 1 fan, who gets in an argument with Penelope Taint (Bynes), Amanda's other No. 1 fan. The two have an Amanda quiz-off to see who's the top fan. (Spoiler: It wasn't Tisdale.) The photo on the right is when she played Wendy on an episode of 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd .

  2. Demi Lovato Nickelodeon

    Prior to Camp Rock and Sonny with a Chance , Lovato guest-starred on an episode of the short-lived Nick show Just Jordan . She played Nicole, a girl who was not falling for Tony Lee's (Justin Chon) songwriting abilities.



  3. Doug Brochu Nickelodeon

    Before playing Grady Mitchell on Sonny with a Chance , Brochu appeared on two Nick series: Zoey 101 (left) and iCarly (right). Coincidentally, he played a wrestler on both shows.

  4. Brenda Song Nickelodeon

    London Tipton who? Song first appeared on an episode of The Brothers Garcia (left), where she became the object of affection for both George (Bobby Gonzalez) and Carlos (Jeffrey Licon) Garcia. On 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd , Song played the protagonist's best friend, Sariffa Chung.

  5. Kay Panabaker Nickelodeon

    Also guest-starring on The Brothers Garcia , Panabaker played Carrie Bauer, the Garcias' new neighbor, before she was Debbie Berwick on Phil of the Future . Larry (Alvin Alvarez) developed a crush on her, but their ~love~ and friendship were threatened after their families got in a big Montague-vs.-Capulet-style fight.

  6. A.J. Trauth Nickelodeon

    Before the world met Twitty on Even Stevens , Trauth appeared in an Amanda Show skit, promoting the fake product Popper Pants . He's the dude in the red shirt.

  7. Sammi Hanratty Nickelodeon

    Holly, the scheming guest at the Tipton Hotel on Suite Life , was first the 'dying British orphan' at a Padres game in the foam finger episode of Drake & Josh .

  8. Brandon Mychal Smith Nickelodeon

    Prior to starring on Sonny with a Chance and first appearing on Phil of the Future , Smith played the recurring character Mario on Unfabulous .

  9. Nicole Gale Anderson Nickelodeon

    Macy Misa on Jonas was on Unfabulous , Zoey 101 , and iCarly before she started hanging out with the JoBros. (She did, however, guest-star on Hannah Montana a few months prior to her iCarly appearance, but that was before her Jonas days, too.)

    On Unfabulous (far left), she played a cheerleader. On Zoey 101 , she played Maria, a.k.a. the girl that Quinn ( Erin Sanders ) thought was trying to steal her boyfriend — but was really just painting a portrait of him so he could give it to Quinn as a gift. Whoops. And her role on iCarly ? She was that snooty girl Tasha who told Carly ( Miranda Cosgrove ) that if iCarly were really that cool of a website, she would've read about it on Nevel Papperman's (Reed Alexander) website.

  10. Steven Anthony Lawrence Nickelodeon

    Everyone's favorite weird kid, Beans from Even Stevens , Lawrence actually appeared on a couple of skits on The Amanda Show prior to his Disney days. In one skit (left), he played a kid being babysat by Bynes, only to learn that he's really the one babysitting her. Later, he was that kid who accidentally swallowed his new pet hamster — and then coughed it up — in a fake commercial for Mammal-O's.

  11. Corbin Bleu Nickelodeon

    Before he was Chad Danforth in the High School Musical films, Bleu played Russell on The Amanda Show . His character's parents wouldn't let him watch The Amanda Show , so the cast came to perform in his bedroom. Bleu also played Spencer on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide , but his two episodes aired after HSM .

  12. Vanessa Hudgens Nickelodeon

    Hudgens wasn't always known as Gabriella from the High School Musical films: She was once known as Lindsey when she guest-starred on an episode of The Brothers Garcia . Charmed by her, Larry tries to keep his cool as he prepares to ask her out, but things don't go as planned. Hudgens also guest-starred on Drake & Josh , but since her episode techincally premiered shortly after High School Musical , we're not counting it. She did get to kiss Drake Bell though, so there's that.