Nickelodeon Star Bryan Hearne Says He Was Called 'Charcoal' While Working

Bryan Hearne is speaking out ... comparing working for Nickelodeon to a torture chamber -- and claiming he faced blatant racism on the job.

The child actor -- who appeared on 16 episodes of the sketch show "All That" as well as other Nick shows -- sat down with Investigation Discovery for the docuseries "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" ... and People revealed a ton of what he's apparently going to say.

One of the biggest revelations ... Bryan -- a Black man -- says an adult called him a "piece of charcoal" while he worked for the network. Unclear what the context of the comment was -- but, regardless a horrible thing to say to a teenager.

BH also reportedly talks about being cast in stereotypically racist roles -- he says he played a drug dealer on the show and also a rapper called Lil Fetus which involved him wearing a flesh-toned leotard ... essentially looking naked on camera.

Hearne says Lil Fetus is one of the many super uncomfortable things he was forced to do while working for Nick ... also the time he had to let a dog lick peanut butter off his body.

Bryan says he didn't feel he could have a discussion with the adults around him about his discomfort ... and likened the whole Nickelodeon experience to being in a torture chamber.

Of course, 'Quiet On Set' has been all over the news and social media recently because Drake Bell revealed he was molested by acting coach Brian Peck while working for the network.

Bell said he worked with police to get a confession from Brian on tape after he says he'd been sexually assaulted by Peck multiple times. Peck eventually pled no contest to performing a lewd act with a 14 or 15-year-old and oral copulation with a minor under 16.

Hearne's in the trailer for the documentary revealing Bell would tell his story ... with Bryan saying he immediately wondered who was assaulted once Peck was exposed.