Hopefully that will be a new anthem that everyone will be singing at every birthday. I’m really excited for everyone to hear our take on the birthday song. JDC: It’s going to be such a fun episode. SK: What should kids and parents look forward to in this special “Happy Birthday, Blue” episode? Take pride in who you are - you’re a Filipino American, and all you can do is do your best work. Now in my adulthood, I realize that it’s not your ethnicity that is the problem. JDC: Coming out of school, all I ever wanted to be was “ethnically ambiguous” so that I could play anything. SK: What it’s like to be the first Asian American actor to host the show? I didn’t really get a chance to experience anything in that capacity growing up. One of my friends told me that their kid pointed to the screen and said, “He looks like me!” That took me out. My friends have kids and their friends have kids, and every once in a while, I get texts or videos of them watching the show, and I’m just floored because they’re engaged and they’re talking to the screen. SK: Have you been able to get feedback from kids since the show premiered in November? You’re asking them the question because they happen to be Tony Hawk as a kid, and you really need their help.”Ī post shared by Nick Jr. Steve, in my audition, said, “If we’re talking about skateboarding, you’re not asking them a question because they happen to be there. It’s an actual person who is living, breathing and listening to you, so find a way to personalize who’s on the other side of that glass.” … I’m improvising with that kid that’s on the other side of the glass, wherever they are in the world, and they are the expert in whatever it is that we’re doing. When I met them, they said, “When you’re talking into the lens, it’s not just the generic ‘Kid’ that’s watching at home. I was able to get advice from Steve Burns, the original host, and from Donovan Patton, who played Joe after him. JDC: Everything is done with the kid in mind to make sure that they are benefiting from this material. SK: Do you have to perform in a specific way to get kids to pay attention to you? As a parent, I want to know if there’s some skill I can learn to do that too! Because when you get to set, everybody has to be quiet, so even if it’s funny, nobody’s laughing, and you just have to trust it. I was able to have the audience in my head and feel their energy, bounce off their energy and really work on my timing and trusting myself and my instincts. JDC: Aladdin did me such a service, because I was able to play with the audience. SK: Was there something about being in Aladdin that prepared you to talk to kids on the show? You’re invited to celebrate Blue’s birthday this Friday at 11a/10c on 🎈Ī post shared by Nick Jr. I’m so grateful for it, but I feel like I want something more, something else… And then my agent sent me an audition for Blue’s Clues. Then one day I was starting to think, I still love work. I was fortunate enough to book my first Broadway show, Aladdin, and I was with the show five years and I loved every single day. Josh Dela Cruz: I don’t know that I ever thought I would be in children’s television, especially Blue’s Clues, was such a big part of my childhood, because I watched it with my little sister. SheKnows: How did you wind up the host of Blue’s Clues? Did you know children’s TV was something you wanted to do?

Before the big day, SheKnows caught up with Dela Cruz to find out how he connects to our kids so well, and whether we can use some of his secrets to entertain them too. In a special episode airing this Friday, Samantha Bee, Rachel Dratch, Laurie Hernandez, Alexa PenaVega, Carlos PenaVega, Kal Penn and Pete Wentz are all appearing on the show to wish Blue a happy birthday.

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