September 19, 2024

"I was just exhausted... the show was all filmed on a green screen.... I was in every take of every shot, every day..."

"... with no other actors or props or anything, just sort of standing in a void for years and years. My real job was listening. Most children’s television talks to the camera, right? That’s kind of an established convention. But what 'Blue’s Clues' did that I think was really a breakthrough is we listened. I worked really hard on making that as believable as possible. And that was becoming more and more challenging every day to do. The entire time I was on that show, I was struggling with undiagnosed, severe clinical depression and I didn’t know what was going on. That made my job extra hard."


It was nice to see this article after running into him on TikTok... where he listens to all of us quite compellingly.

22 comments:

Ice Nine said...

And they argue that TikTok is not the height of vapidity...

rehajm said...

Boul! Bowl! Pant pant pant…

John henry said...

Grandkids, boy 6,girl 8,are still Blues Clues fans.

Good to hear he is doing well

John Henry

rehajm said...

Oh, sure Ann- no free article here. Saving em to spread the propaganda later? 😒

Mary Beth said...

Here you go. I never use my free links.

Mary Beth said...

My kids watched the show when they were little. I painted our mailbox to look like Mailbox. ("Mail's here, mail's here!")

Kate said...

Wasn't Frasier's radio tag line "I'm listening", said in that pompous voice?

We never watched Blue's Clues. When the kids were little we gamed Nintendo together. I'm kind of astonished to realize I have never once seen that show.

Jamie said...

Didn't "Steve" move into adult films for a while after Blue's Clues? I could Google it, but it's one of those stories that's too good to check.

rehajm said...

Oh, thank you Mary Beth

Kakistocracy said...

Tucked away somewhere in the memory less visited lies a gentle and kind man. Cheers to him, he was a good piece of our children's lives for a number of years.

Rabel said...

"struggling with undiagnosed, severe clinical depression"

Well, if you say so. I don't know who convinced him of that or how they convinced him he was cured but there's gonna be a lot of demand for that particular service when Trump wins.

A whole lot.

J Melcher said...

you made me notice Steve wears a shirt in the pattern of the hoodie worn by Vivian James.

walter said...

Double entendre of Blues Clues.

Jamie said...

I should be clear that I don't judge him if he did go into adult films. It's hard to break out of children's TV, and I have never heard anything remotely questionable about him (simply being in adult films, if true, would not be questionable for an adult, even if it's not a mainstream choice or one I actively endorse). Mylie Cyrus's post-Disney choices have been similarly jarring, though - again - not actually problematic, given where she lives (that is, where lots of drugs are legal). And I understand that she's more or less come out of her youthful crazies. I hope I've heard correctly about that.

If "Steve" suffers from depression as the article says, I wish him the best, whatever turns his career may take. I was worried when I saw the subject of the post that he had died. The Black Beast is no joke.

Jamie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jamie said...

He was indeed! And none of that is erased if, later, he took a different and, for children, unacceptable path, as I heard he had. He was a positive force while he was in Blue's Clues, for sure.

Jamie said...

Duplicate post - sorry!

John henry said...

I need to modify my earlier comment I was talking to my six-year-old grandson tonight and asked him about Blue's Clues. He doesn't watch it anymore because it's for little kids and he's six

Go figure

John Henry

Mr. D said...

My kids loved that show - it was definitely a cut above some of the other fare available in that era.

Lazarus said...

That guy. I wasn't sure if he was Scott Baio or John Stamos. It turns out he was neither?

Bunkypotatohead said...

How does he know he had clinical depression when it hasn't been diagnosed?

Dave said...

How would you know you had clinical depression if it was diagnosed?