Miranda Cosgrove Says Jack Black 'Kept Up' with 'School of Rock' Kids: 'Unbelievably Nice' (Exclusive)

The 'iCarly' star tells PEOPLE exclusively about her continued admiration for Jack Black ahead of 'School of Rock''s 20th anniversary

After all these years, Miranda Cosgrove has nothing but gratitude and appreciation for her School of Rock costar Jack Black.

The iCarly star, 30, tells PEOPLE ahead of the film's 20th anniversary about how Black has remained in touch with his younger costars in the years since the film's early aughts debut.

"I think Jack Black's amazing," Cosgrove says. "He's kept up with pretty much all of us from the movie since we did it."

Related: Brian Falduto Talks Moving Beyond 'School of Rock' Fame and Making Unabashedly 'Gay Country' Music

And despite his A-list status, Cosgroves considers the 53-year-old High Fidelity actor to be very down to Earth.

"I love him," she continues. "He just acts [as] the most normal, nice guy. He doesn't seem like he thinks he's Jack Black at all."

School of Rock hit theaters in October 2003. The well-reviewed film, which sees Black's Dewey Finn take on a job posing as a substitute music teacher after being kicked out of his rock band, has since gone on to become a cult classic. It was recently confirmed that the cast would reunite this fall to celebrate the movie's 20th anniversary.

Cosgrove credits her positive experience working alongside Black — who later made a cameo on her iCarly series in 2010 — as her inspiration for continuing acting.

"He's always been unbelievably nice," she says, "and I can honestly say one of the main reasons I love acting, and why I probably tried to keep doing it for so long, is because of what a great experience he made doing School of Rock."

Related: Jack Black Is 'Looking Forward to Seeing All the Grownups' at Upcoming 'School of Rock' 20-Year Reunion

Following the success of School of Rock, Cosgrove went on to star in Nickelodeon shows Drake & Josh and iCarly. She lent her voice to Margo in Despicable Me films as well as appeared in The Intruders, 3022 and North Hollywood. She additionally serves as a host for Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove. She also launched her debut album, Sparks Fly, in 2010 and her High Maintenance EP in 2011.

Currently, Cosgrove is reprising her role as Carly Shay in the Paramount+ iCarly revival. The series, which sees Carly navigating adult life after being a teen internet sensation, is now in its third season.

According to the former child star, the journey of bringing the revival to life was made easier with the help of her costars, Nathan Kress and Jerry Trainor.

"I would say for me, what really made it all work and made it a fun experience was having the help of Nathan and Jerry, because I've known them for so long and they're two of my best friends," she recalls. "So I think when we first started and we were trying to figure out what the show was going to be, I'm not sure it would've ever really gone all the way and ended up being made if I hadn't talked to them and we hadn't all talked and aired our worries, and everything, and worked together to try to figure out what we'd all be comfortable with."

Cosgrove adds, "It's been really fun getting to work with them and try our best to just make the show as good as possible."

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New episodes of iCarly arrive Thursdays on Paramount+

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