Amanda Bynes’ Former Co-Star Leslie Grossman Addresses Bynes’ Decision to Return to Acting

Amanda Bynes is ready for the spotlight again. The 32-year-old’s friend and former co-star, Leslie Grossman, told Busy Philipps on Tuesday’s episode of Busy Tonight that Bynes can’t wait to start working on projects once again.

“I met her when she was 16 years old and you don’t know what you’re gonna get when you meet a young star of a show, it could be a nightmare,” said Grossman, who starred opposite Bynes for four years on the early 2000s sitcom What I Like About You.

“[But] from the get-go, [she was] the sweetest, the funniest, the most hard working, and just a wonderful person,” she said. “That show was a really fun and good time in my life, and we had such a good time doing that.”

Bynes endured a tumultuous several years in between then and now, struggling publicly with addiction and mental health issues, but she announced last summer that she was clean and sober and ready to return to the business. Then, in November, she elaborated on her various struggles in a lengthy interview with PAPER magazine, in which she appeared to have come to terms with and move past many of the problems she battled for years.

Grossman confirmed as much to Philipps. “She’s doing fantastic, she really is,” said Grossman, 47, adding that she had dinner with Bynes last week. “She looks beautiful, and she’s very eager to get back into acting, which I think she’ll have no problem with. I think everyone wants to see her doing something.”

The American Horror Story actress continued, saying that Bynes is also still “really committed to doing fashion,” which is a passion she recently studied during her break from acting.

Grossman exercised much empathy for the former child star, whose battle with mental health and addiction was thrust into the spotlight.

“I think all of us have had tough times in our lives, and we haven’t had to do it in front of the glare of a camera,” Grossman said. “I’m very, very proud of her, I really am. She’s doing great.”

A few weeks after her PAPER interview published, Bynes filed to trademark Vintage by Amanda Bynes, under which she’d be able to sell products like clothing, soaps, perfumes and cosmetics — a nod toward her passion for fashion. The trademark filing also detailed that she’d be selling jewelry, bracelets, necklaces and keychain charms under the new brand name.

“I have no fear of the future. I’ve been through the worst and came out the other end and survived it so I just feel like it’s only up from here,” Bynes told PAPER, adding that she wants to re-enter the business “kind of the same way I did as a kid, which is with excitement and hope for the best.”

Busy Tonight airs Mondays through Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on E! Network.

Photo credit: Instagram / @lesliegrossman