The creator of Full House spilled some tea about casting the beloved sitcom, and we learned some exciting new details about how the show came together.
Starring the likes of Bob Saget, John Stamos, Lori Laughlin and more, the show dominated the late ’80s and ’90s. It still has a devoted following to this day.
Creator Jeff Franklin stopped by franchise stars Jodie Sweetin and Andrea Barber‘s How Rude, Tanneritos podcast to talk the show’s creation and success.
In the process, he revealed two actors who didn’t need to audition for their roles. Jeff also revealed the role that they had an exceptionally difficult time casting.
Read more about the Full House casting experience…
The two castmates who didn’t audition were Jodie and John.
“Jodie for sure because I stumbled onto that tape of her from Valerie,” Jeff recalled, referring to another show that the actress appeared on. “That was one of the happiest days of my life. Like, ‘Oh my god. Who is this girl? She’s Shirley Temple reincarnated, but Shirly Temple‘s still alive.’”
“There’s nobody I’ve experienced that was so… at that age… Not only could you light up the screen, but you were so on top of everything,” he told Jodie.
Jeff continued, adding, “John Stamos did not audition. We just offered him the part, and then we had a lunch together.”
While he said that “all the other roles fell into place beautifully,” they had a tough time getting Danny Tanner right. Of course, the role ultimately went to Bob.
It turns out that Bob was one of two early choices that Jeff floated. The other was Paul Reiser. However, both actors were tied up in other projects at the time.
They ended up filming a pilot for the series with John Posey, who Jeff described as a “likeable, sweet guy.”
“He was the lowest-testing character. But that’s because, he’s basically the straight man surrounded by idiots. That was to be expected,” Jeff said about John‘s interpretation of Danny.
While he admitted that it “sucks” and was “horrible” to replace the role, he stressed that he knew that Bob was right for the role.
If you missed it, John recently shared one of the last cast photos featuring Bob. He also revealed the costar he came close to dating and that he almost quit the show before it took off.