Drake Bell grows up fast

GRADUATING CAN be a tough transition for any kid, but young fans of Drake Bell, erstwhile costar of Nickelodeon's "Drake & Josh," are in for an uncultured shock at his resoundingly R-rated "College."

"I wasn't doing it specifically to get an older audience," he says in his air-conditioned trailer on the set of the upcoming holiday TV movie "Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh," a belated present to fans a couple of years after the show's end. "I was doing 'College' just because it was fun. But the kind of movie it is, I hope it will bring in that [older] audience because that's something a bit lacking right now. I'm fine with 6 to 16; I need some 18 to 25."

Not that the 22-year-old Bell is scoffing at his younger fans; he has pointed out in the past that the Beatles' audience grew up with them and followed them into uncharted waters. That's an apt comparison, considering the Fab Four are the most dominant influence in the mop-topped actor-songwriter's music.

"Acting's tough. Music is your creation, your baby," he says. "If you're on a successful show, it's like, 'Good job, executive producer and head writer!' If you sell 2 million records, you wrote that album, you toured, that's your accomplishment. I mean, if I was winning an Oscar . . . but I don't see that happening any time soon."

His wry smile signals he knows the golden statuette is not likely to come his way for "College," an "American Pie"-style romp in which he and two other high school seniors get swept up in the carnal carnival of a weekend at a hedonistic institution with fewer books than bacchanals.

"I didn't go to college, so I at least got to experience the party part rather than the academic aspect," he says. "It was fun, just to get to hang out and party for two months. That's what the movie really was, and saying some dialogue in between. It was like watching 'Animal House' but in real life."

Bell has won three Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for favorite TV actor, but one gets the distinct impression he's prouder of the songs he wrote and performed for "Drake & Josh" than for his acting on it. Having learned the basics of guitar from the Who's Roger Daltrey while the two worked on a TV movie together nine years ago, Bell released his solo debut independently in 2005, followed by the major-label "It's Only Time" in 2006. He says he drew inspiration for an in-the-works conceptual double CD from the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" and "Magical Mystery Tour."