"Kind of sustained me, but man, it was grim": Steve Burns opens up about his role with Nick Jr. Blue's Clues

Steven Michael Burns, or Steve Burns, is an American actor, television host, and musician. He is widely popular for his role as the host of the Nickelodeon Jr. children's show Blue's Clues. The show aired from 1996 to 2002, and Burns enjoyed the perks of popularity that came with the show. During the Soul Boom podcast with Rainn Wilson, Steve Burns opened up about his career of six years.

While Steve Burns was widely known at the time when Blue's Clues was airing on TV, he called it his "side hustle forever". The reason behind this statement is paycheck was minuscule. He said:

"Every waiter I ever knew made more money than I did for the first many seasons of that show," the actor revealed.

However, he made money through other means. He explained how his "real" job as a voice-over actor barely helped him pay the bills. Burns said:

"My real gig was, I was a voice-over guy. I fell into that early.... kind of sustained me, but man, it was grim."

He also opened up about his living conditions. This is what Burns had to say:

"lived in a hallway [in a NYC apartment]. I built like a little shelf in a hallway between two tiny bedrooms."

How did Steve Burns end up being the face of Blue's Clues on Nickelodeon Jr.?

Steve Burns shared that his audition for Blue's Clues was sort of an accident. He initially thought the role was for a game show. At the time of his audition, Burns was 22 years old, and he thought the show:

"was going to be the voice of a cartoon on a children’s television show."

He realized how wrong he was when he got to the audition room. Burns shared with Wilson:

"I went to the audition, and when I got there, there was a camera in the room, and I thought, 'Oh sh*t, I better do something.' And so I looked at the script, and I figured … I’m going to act the sh*t out of this."

Steve was honest during the podcast, saying that if he knew he was auditioning for a children's show, he would not have gone forward with it. He further elaborated:

"...not only because I was a pretentious young man at the time, that was part of it, but also because children’s television had never occurred to me."

He added:

"I didn’t even know any kids, you know? And I just thought, there’s no way I can do that."

Steve Burns was ultimately chosen for the role because he was considered to be "the realest" out of all those who auditioned.

After working on Blue's Clues for six years, the Nickelodeon Jr. actor decided to part ways with the show, and many fans were disappointed and shocked by his decision. Burns, however, opened up about his depressive episode, which he referred to as "the gray" phase in his life.

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However, Burns decided to seek therapy, which eventually helped him move out of his depressive phase. He also reconnected with his Blue's Clues fans, even writing for the new Blue's Clues & You! The actor also made a few appearances on the show as his fictional character. During 2020, when the pandemic was affecting the entire world, Burns shared this message on his social media:

"...after all these years, I never forgot you. Ever. And I'm super glad we're still friends."

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