Can you imagine a world without Steve Burns as the human face of Blues Clues?
According to the actor, that was almost the case.
In a new interview with NPR, the actor revealed he nearly lost the role to someone he described as "conventionally handsome."
Burns said he originally moved to New York to be a serious, "dangerous" actor.
"I wanted to be a dangerous little short guy actor from the seventies, like Al Pacino or Dustin Hoffman."
"You know, that's what I came to New York to do."
Burns ultimately, however, found himself competing with that "conventionally handsome" man for the role of Blues Clues host.
In an effort to make the decision process easier for Nickelodeon, they set up a screening for the two actors to get children's reactions.
Burns recalled that the other man took a straight approach to his hosting duties, so Burns decided to get a little "weird."
"I remember getting way too close to the camera and pausing until it felt weird."
"And then I paused a little longer. Right? And really tried to do that listening thing."
As we're all aware, the "listening thing" became a staple on the show.
Burns credited his inspiration to Ferris Bueller breaking the fourth wall and Grover from Sesame Street.
"I'd love to say that I was just a forward-thinking and insightful, brilliant actor, but it had nothing to do with anything like that."
"It was just desperation."
But the "desperation" certainly paid off.
Children seemed to respond better to Burns' take on the role, and one child in particular had a major impact on the selection.
The toddler daughter of MTV Networks employee Lisa Headley took a huge liking to Burns.
Headley shared:
"She kind of like went a little feral, you know, dancing and carrying on, jumping up and down."
Headley had volunteered her daughter for the focus group, and her reaction was exactly what execs were looking for... so much so, in fact, that it was used for promo ads for the show.
The toddler, now a TikTok creator known as Astraea Regina, admitted:
"I watched every episode."
Her response to Burns in addition to the way she engaged the other children with her enthusiasm was the deciding factor.
And weeks ago, the Burns and Regina met for the first time at a comic convention in Indiana.
That's when Burns found out about the role Regina played in the casting decision.
"I went over to him and then I explained to him the story and his face looked so shocked."
Burns recounted:
"I kind of thought she was just saying, 'I used to watch you on TV.'"
"I was like, 'Oh, cool, thank you. You know, that's great.'"
"She's like, 'No, dude, that was me. I was the one who got you. I was the one in that focus group.'"
"And that was just mind-blowing."
Their first encounter was shared on social media.
Regina captioned her post:
"Little did the world know that 3 year old Astraea chose the man that would raise a whole generation."
And fans lost their minds.
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Burns graced our homes and our hearts from 1996 until 2002, when Steve "went to college."
We are forever grateful for those six seasons... and for Astraea Regina!
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