John Stamos Initially Tried to Quit ‘Full House’ After Realizing He’d Likely Play ‘Second Fiddle’ to Jodie Sweetin

On the first episode of ‘Full House Rewind’ podcast, host Dave Coulier and show creator Jeff Franklin recalled how Sweetin “stole the show” during the cast’s first table read — and Stamos was less than thrilled

FULL HOUSE - "The Heartbreak Kid" - Season Six - 2/9/93, Jesse (John Stamos) was assisted by Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) with his laptop computer. — Jodie Sweetin and John Stamos on ‘Full House’ in 1993. Photo: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Full House became a huge hit after the sitcom’s debut in 1987 — but fans might be surprised to learn John Stamos actually wanted out of the show not long after he was cast as Jesse Katsopolis.

During the first episode of the Dave Coulier’s new podcast Full House Rewind, hesat down with Full House creator Jeff Franklin to discuss the beginnings of the beloved series. Midway through their chat, Coulier, 63, and Franklin, 68, recalled how Jodie Sweetin — who was cast as Stephanie Tanner — “stole the show” during the cast’s first table read.

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“I remembered our first table read,” Coulier said, as Franklin added, “Where there’s a room full of studio and network executives. They were all there to see Stamos, I think.”

However, when Sweetin started reading her lines, it was apparent to everyone that she was a star.

“[She] stole the whole thing,” Franklin pointed out.

Coulier, who played Joey Gladstone on the series, then recalled: “And I remember walking out with John. He’s like, ‘The whole show is going to be her. We can’t do this!”

ohn Stamos Tried to Quit 'Full House' After Realizing He'd Play 'Second Fiddle' to Jodie Sweetin: 'She Stole the Show' — John Stamos and Jodie Sweetin.Michael Kovac/GettyEmily Assiran/Getty

It wasn’t until “much later” that Franklin learned Stamos, 59, “was so upset about having to play second fiddle to these really funny kids” that he called his agent and attempted to quit the show.

As Franklin remembered it, Stamos told his agent, “This is a mistake. Get me off this show.”

Despite his initial hesitance, Stamos went on to play the Elvis-obsessed Uncle Jesse for the sitcom’s entire eight-season run from 1987-1995. He was joined by Coulier, Sweetin, Candace Cameron Bure, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Andrea Barber, Scott Weinger, Lori Loughlin and the late Bob Saget.

The hit show helped further cement Stamos as a bonafide TV star and launch the rest of the cast into stardom. He and the cast also returned to reprise their roles for the sequel series, Fuller House, which ran on Netflix from 2016 to 2020.

Not In Order) Jodie Sweetin, Mary-Kate / Ashley Olson, Bob Saget, Candace Cameron Burke, Dave Coulier, John Stamos, Lori Loughlin, Scott Weinger, Andrea Barber promotional photo for the ABC tv series 'Full House — ABC via Getty

This isn’t the only anecdote about Stamos’ Full House beginnings that have come to light.

Earlier this year, the actor appeared on Josh Peck’s Good Guys podcast, where he revealed that he nearly got the Olsen twins booted from the show. The then-11-month-old twins were having a rough day on set during a memorable season 1 scene when the moment happened.

“[Dave] and I were changing the baby,” Stamos told Peck. “We’re carrying the baby downstairs, I think I was holding on to their armpits and Dave was holding her little feet. We take her into the kitchen and hosed her down, we put a fan on her, wrapped her up in paper towels. She was screaming. Both of them, they wanted to be anywhere else but there, and so did I.”

When the situation got worse, Stamos recalled thinking the Olsen twins, now 36, were not ready for prime time. The producers eventually hired “two red-headed kids” but it wasn’t long before Stamos wanted the Olsen twins back.

“I said, ‘Bring the Olsens back, these kids are terrible!'” he recalled. “It was a day or something, we tried the other kids, it didn’t work. I said, ‘This is not going to work, guys,’ and I screamed it 10 times. I said, ‘Get rid of them, I can’t work like this.'”

Late-Night Highlight: John Stamos Confirms 'Full House' Reboot Coming To Netflix — ‘Full House’ cast.

Despite those unconventional beginnings on the series, Stamos went on to develop strong bond with the rest of the Full House cast. In September 2022, he opened up about the impact the show has had while marking its 35th anniversary.

“When when it first came out, the reviews said it wouldn’t last until Thanksgiving,” he told PEOPLE. “When it ended, it was time to move on. I was trying to keep my distance from it. And it just got bigger every year, bigger and bigger, and I realized, ‘Why am I running from this?’ I got to the point, too, where I’d done enough work that I felt I was able to do other things and prove myself as an actor. And so now I just absolutely love it. I just love it.”

Full House is currently streaming on Hulu and HBO Max, while Fuller House can be streamed on Netflix.

‘Full House’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

Everywhere you look, everywhere you go, there’s a beloved sitcom to hold onto. Catch up with the stars of Full House since its 1995 finale

Sweetin has worked in a number of independent films since Full House, including Port City (2009) and Redefining Love (2009). Famously, she battled drug addiction throughout the decade after the show’s conclusion, a struggle she chronicled in her 2010 memoir, unSweetined.

She hit the ballroom on season 22 of Dancing with the Stars, and in January 2016, the mother of two girls got engaged to boyfriend Justin Hodak, though they split in March 2017. In 2019, she launched a parenting podcast titled Never Thought I’d Say This with best friend and life coach Celia Behar.

On Jan. 17, 2022, Sweetin announced she was engaged to boyfriend Mescal Wasilewski, days before her 40th birthday.

The pair then wed in an intimate ceremony at a private home in Malibu on July 30, 2022.

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Candace Cameron Bure as D.J. Tanner

Bob D’Amico/ABC/Getty; Frederick M. Brown/Getty

Just one year after Full House ended, Cameron became Cameron Bure when she married hockey pro Vareli Bure. She appeared in a few TV movies as well as an episode of Boy Meets World, and then took a few years off from acting to focus on her family (she has three grown children).

Since going back to work, her most memorable pop culture moments have been in the show Make It or Break It, her gig as a co-host on The View and her third-place finish on Dancing with the Stars. And she made Full House fans the happiest in 2016 when she, Jodie Sweetin and Andrea Barber rebooted their series with the Netflix show Fuller House, following their characters into adulthood (and featuring cameos from most of the OGs).

The actress has stayed busy in made-for-TV holiday movies, too, and serves as chief creative officer for the Great American Family network. In 2022, she received backlash on comments she made about the network’s depiction of “traditional marriage,” and responded by saying “it breaks my heart that anyone would ever think I intentionally would want to offend and hurt anyone.”

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Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen as Michelle Tanner

For these two, Full House was just the beginning. The twin sisters went on to release a number of successful straight-to-video movies (Passport to Paris, anyone?), star in two more TV shows and launch their own company, Dualstar, which they took over as joint CEOs in 2004. Gradually, they both exited the acting world — Ashley hasn’t had a real role in more than a decade, while Mary-Kate held on a little longer with stints in shows like Weeds. Now, they head up two fashion brands, The Row, a couture line, and the ready-to-wear label Elizabeth and James.

In 2015, Mary-Kate quietly married French banker Olivier Sarkozy, and opened up about their seemingly normal life in a 2017 interview with The Edit, while talking about balancing family and career. “We’re lucky [working hard] comes quite naturally for us. We don’t need so much time to sit and think and ponder,” she said. Mary-Kate filed for divorce from her husband in 2020, and has since focused on her equestrian work.

Ashley has kept a similarly low profile, walking the red carpet solo at the 2021 CFDA Awards. In December 2022, she wed boyfriend Louis Eisner in an intimate ceremony.

Their sister Elizabeth is currently having a moment thanks to her role in the critically acclaimed WandaVision.

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Bob Saget as Danny Tanner

The Tanner family patriarch kept busy after the Full House finale, appearing on shows like Raising Dad, Entourage and Grandfathered. And as How I Met Your Mother fans know, the actor voiced the “older” Ted Mosby throughout the show’s nine-season run. He also penned several books, including 2014’s Dirty Daddy: The Chronicles of a Family Man Turned Filthy Comedian (Danny Tanner would not approve), and consistently did stand-up, with his last special premiering on Netflix in 2022.

Married to Kelly Rizzo in 2018, Saget had three adult daughters with ex-wife Sherri Kramer. The actor was found dead in an Orlando hotel room on Jan. 9, 2022, after doing a stand-up show outside of Jacksonville, Florida. He was 65.

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John Stamos as Jesse Katsopolis

Stamos hasn’t stopped since Full House, nabbing a number of films and TV shows, most notably in ER, on which he starred for four years. He had featured spots in Glee, Scream Queens, Grandfathered and You, and starred on Big Shot from 2021 to 2022. The actor also authored his first memoir, If You Would Have Told Me, which will be released in October 2023.

In 2018, he married longtime love Caitlin McHugh; together, they have one son named Billy.

And on top of all of that, Former President Barack Obama called him “the best looking Greek around” when the two met in 2015.

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Dave Coulier as Joey Gladstone

Throughout the past two decades, Coulier has stayed active in the industry, appearing in a number of TV shows and films. Known for his voices and impressions (Mr. Woodchuck!), he’s done lots of voice work, too. But he’s definitely remained loyal to his first love, comedy, and continues to tour as a stand-up comedian.

In 2014, he wed Melissa Bring, with his Full House costars at his side.

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Andrea Barber as Kimmy Gibbler

After Full House wrapped, Barber bowed out of the acting world. She graduated from Whittier College, earned an M.A. in women’s studies from the University of York in England and then went back to work for her undergraduate alma mater.

In 2002, she married Jeremy Rytky, with whom she has two children; they divorced in 2014. Fuller House was her first role (with the exception of an appearance on It’s F—–‘ Late with Dave Coulier) since the original series’ end.

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Lori Loughlin as Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis

Since Full House, Loughlin’s pretty much been a staple on TV screens everywhere. She’s starred in shows like In Case of Emergency, 90210, What Calls the Heart and Summerland, which she co-created and produced, not to mention her numerous Hallmark Channel movies and holiday films.

She married her designer husband Mossimo Giannulli in 1997; the couple has two adult children, Isabella (“Bella”) and Olivia. The family was embroiled in the 2019 “Varsity Blues” college admissions bribery scandal, when it was discovered they paid more than $500,000 to have their daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as members of the rowing team. Loughlin served two months in prison for her actions in late 2020, with Giannulli sentenced to five months for his part in the scandal. She stepped back into the acting world in late 2021 and starred in a January 2023 TV film for Great American Family network.

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Blake & Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit as Nicky and Alex Katsopolis

Neither of the twins have acted since their Full House days, and most likely, lived out the rest of their childhood and adolescence in relative normalcy. However, they couldn’t keep away from the industry entirely: Dylan worked in the sound departments on Game of Thrones and Black Sails, while Blake did the same on FBI and Castle Rock. In 2016, they made a brief appearance on Fuller House, too.

Dave Coulier Says the Full House Cast Nicknamed Guest Star Mickey Rooney ‘Topper’ Because of His Annoying Habit

Coulier and his costars John Stamos and Bob Saget didn’t exactly mesh with Rooney

Sometimes meeting a Hollywood legend can go a little differently than expected.

On the Jan. 10 episode of his rewatch podcast Full House Rewind, Dave Coulier answered a listener question about working with guest star Mickey Rooney on the ’90s series. Rooney, who died in 2014 at the age of 93, appeared in the Full House season 8 episode, “Arrest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” as Mr. Dreghorn, a Scrooge-like man whom the family helps connect with his daughter.

“I’m not sure how much of our audience will remember Mickey Rooney,” Coulier, 65, said. “But at one point, during his career, he was the biggest star on the planet.” From age 15 to 25, Rooney made 43 movies, and he continued to act up to his death.

JOHN STAMOS MARY-KATE/ASHLEY OLSEN MICKEY ROONEY FULL HOUSE – “Arrest Ye Merry Gentlemen” – December 13, 1994.

From left: John Stamos, Ashley Olsen and Mickey Rooney on 1 994 episode of ‘Full House’. ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty
“He was a really interesting guy,” Coulier said, noting he’d been married eight times. “He was really affable, and he knew the show. He knew Full House. And I thought, ‘Wow, that’s amazing that Mickey Rooney knows our show.’ I don’t know whether he really did or not.”

But soon, Coulier and his costars John Stamos and Bob Saget noticed something odd. “Every conversation we would start, Mickey Rooney would become an expert at it,” he said. “We would talk about something and John would go, ‘I’m drumming with the Beach Boys’ and Mickey was like, ‘Oh man, the Beach Boys, I hung out with them.’ ”

“Every time we mentioned a subject, Mickey Rooney had a topper story,” he said. “So we started calling him ‘Topper.’ ”

Once the trio caught on, they would bait Rooney into conversation. Coulier purposely mentioned playing hockey. “[He said], Oh man. I was the fastest skater growing up,’ and this and that. He said, ‘I played semi-pro.’ ” Coulier said that as a hockey player, he knows when someone says they played “semi-pro,” they didn’t, because someone who actually did would specify the league.

“I remember, I called him out. I go, ‘Do you shoot right or left?’ And he goes, ‘It doesn’t matter.’ And I go, ‘Yes, it does,’ ” Coulier said.

Full House Star Dave Coulier Admits His Character’s Last Name Was a Stoner Pun
odie Sweetin, Mary-Kate / Ashley Olson, Bob Saget, Candace Cameron Bure, John Stamos, Lori Loughlin, Mickey Rooney, Dylan / Blake Tuomy-Wilhoit appearing in the ABC tv series ‘Full House’, episode ‘Arrest Ye Merry Gentlemen’.

The cast of ‘Full House’ with Mickey Rooney (center) in 1994. American Broadcasting Companies/Getty
In the Full House episode, which aired in 1994, Rooney’s character ended up playing Santa Claus for the younger kids. It was a role the actor was familiar with, having played Santa in the TV specials Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town, The Year Without a Santa Claus and Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July. He also reprised the role in 2008’s A Miser Brothers’ Christmas.

Back at 90s Con in September 2024, Coulier reflected on what made Full House work. Initially, he said, the cast “didn’t know which direction the show was going to go,” or “if we were going to be a hit.”

“To have that much excitement and to be working with incredible funny actors … I’m always about how do we make people laugh, and when I saw Jodie [Sweetin] and Candace [Cameron Bure] and how funny they were, I thought, we’re good, these kids are really funny,” he said.

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