John Stamos says he tried to quit ‘Full House’ at first: ‘I hated that show’
John Stamos spoke candidly about his time on the hit family-friendly sitcom “Full House,” and his comments may surprise you.
Appearing on last week’s episode of hot wing interview show “Hot Ones,” Stamos, who starred on “Full House” in the late 80s through the mid-90s as Uncle Jesse, admitted that he didn’t have very fond feelings for show at first – and even attempted to quit.
“I hated that show,” he said, going on to recall that the show was initially pitched to him as being similar to “Bosom Buddies,” the short-lived 80s sitcom starring Peter Scolari and Tom Hanks, but “with a couple of kids in the background.”
Stamos goes on to say that, at the time, he felt like he was “the star” of the show and had a “big shot” attitude in the early stages of production, so when his co-star Jodie Sweetin, who was just a child at the time, outshone him during the first table read, his ego was a little bruised.
“Jodie Sweetin, who plays Stephanie (Tanner), reads her lines and people are dying laughing – I mean, screaming,” Stamos said, adding, “I couldn’t even hear my lines, they were laughing so hard at her, and I’m like slinking down in my seat.”
He said he vividly remembers running out to the lobby to call his agent to say, “get me the f–k off this show!”
Ultimately, Stamos explained that with the help of his late co-star Bob Saget, and a nudge from his agent, he decided to give it a try.
“I fought it for a long time and then I finally said, ‘what am I doing?’ It’s a beautiful show built with sweetness and kindness,” he said, adding he came to the realization that “the central character was love,” and that “we were the best representation of a loving family – not a normal family – and it was the new normal.”
“Full House” aired on ABC between 1987 and 1995. The sitcom followed Saget’s character Danny Tanner, a widower who raises his three daughters with the help of Stamos’s “Uncle Jesse” Katsopolis, and his friend Joey Gladstone, played by Dave Coulier.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen – who Stamos hilariously also recently admitted he tried get fired from the show at first – starred alongside Sweetin and Candace Cameron Bure as the three Tanner daughters. Lori Loughlin played Stamos’ on-screen wife, Becky.