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2 Sep 2025 3:59
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  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Drake has revealed "one of" his "first kisses" was for the teen drama Degrassi

    The 38-year-old rap megastar got his big break starring as Jimmy Brooks in the CTV teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation, aged 14, in 2001


    And, he has revealed that the on-screen smooch he shared with his co-star in the teen drama, Lauren Collins - who played Paige Michalchuk - was actually quite a big deal as he hadn't had much experience with the ladies back then.

    Speaking in the trailer for the documentary Degrassi: Whatever It Takes, which looks back on the legacy of the series, Drake said of his life before his breakthrough role: "I didn't have a great time in high school. I just didn't really fit in.

    "And one day my mom called me and told me, 'You got the role,' and I just grabbed my bag and left.

    "Man, what a wild journey that started."

    The One Dance hitmaker - whose real name is Aubrey Graham - then came to the realisation: "She [Lauren] had to be one of my first kisses for sure.

    "Damn, I never thought about it like that."

    Drake went on to become one of the biggest music stars on the planet, having sold more than 170 million records worldwide.

    However, things could have panned out very differently for the star, who previously recalled getting "high right before" his life-changing Degrassi audition.

    The Rich Flex star often ponders what would have happened if his body had reacted badly to the drug he took as a young teen after he "succumbed to peer pressure".

    Drake said in an audio note posted to Instagram in 2023: "Someone asked me the other night what my biggest fear is, and I've never really had a good answer for it, but my answer was that all this is for nothing. Kind of the idea that one day, life ends and it just all goes black. And I guess that question sent me, you know, obviously deep into a spiral of thought.

    "And it makes me think about my life and how surreal it feels at times.

    "I go back to this day when I was like 13 or 14. I had an audition for a TV show that ultimately shaped my life, and before my audition, I went to this kid's house. And I, out of, I guess, a desire to be accepted, I would succumb to peer pressure, and I got high with these kids right before my audition."

    He added: "I kind of wonder, like, if something bad happened that day or, you know, maybe I'm still high, maybe I'm in some coma. And this is just me playing out my ideal life. And yeah, that concept has stuck with me for a lot of years. I mean, it feels like reality, it feels tangible. But I definitely wonder sometimes."

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

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